


writing requests

by worstgirl



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Angry Michael, Angst, Apologies, Background boyf riends, Bisexual Jeremy, Brooke & Michael friendship, Christine & Jeremy friendship, Crack, Crack Written Seriously, Crying, Cute, Fluff, Froyo, Gay Michael, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jesus Christ Superstar - Freeform, Mentions of Sexual Assault, Mentions of underage drinking, Nervous breakdowns, Pining, Pining Michael, Pinkberry, Poor Jeremy, Poor Michael, Promposals, Songfic, Stagedorks, Talking about musicals, The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals - Freeform, This was actually fun, Trans!Jeremy Heere, anything allowed, awful poems, boyf riends - Freeform, but a secret art kid, cross dressing jeremy, first time writing them whoops, gayyyyy, hinted at things that are bad, i suck at these two i’m sorry!!, i’m sorry i didn’t follow this request very well, i’m sorry if i messed that one up, jeremy is an art kid, mentions of dysphoria, mentions of tgwdlm, more stagedorks, pining rich, platonic boyf riends - Freeform, play ride, popular au, richjake, sad jerm, that’s right i’m being a cliche, the squip gets what it deserves, they both need hugs, trans!jeremy, use of the r word once, you tell me what to write
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2019-06-25 12:32:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 19,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15640824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worstgirl/pseuds/worstgirl
Summary: currently just be more chill writing requests, but other fandoms may be allowed eventually!what do you guys want to see me write?





	1. rules

yes, cliche, i know

but recently, i’ve been going through lack of original ideas, but i know a lot of you have great ideas that you think you can’t write! so i am here to fulfill those dreams, probably poorly.

some rules!!

1\. fluff is okay. angst is okay. smut is not recommended. crack is... very iffy.

2\. any of the ships in the tags are okay! i’ll try my best to write them, i’m sorry if they’re somewhat ooc.

3\. platonic things (friendship fics) are much appreciated! enemy fics are somewhat appreciated! romantic things are much appreciated!

4\. aus, as long as they are well explained, are also great! 

5\. vague ideas are cool, but don’t just suggest a ship. you can try giving me a word, or a prompt you found online, and i’d love those!

6\. have fun with it! do whatever you want, just know that some of these won’t be written. i’m one person, not many.

7\. i do not, i repeat do NOT, write anything romantic with the SQUIP. not even in a human au. however, they can most definitely be a character!

8\. don’t request 17 million things at once, and don’t bug me about if/when your story will be finished. 

possible fandoms other than bmc! (in order of greatest to least likely to be approved)

-percy jackson/magnus chase/kane chronicles  
-doctor who   
-heathers   
-harry potter  
-mean girls (the musical)  
-dear evan hansen

go wild! this is an oppurtunity for both me and my readers to have fun with this! comment on this chapter, or send me anonymous messages on my tumblr, player-two-heere or my instagram playertwo__!

stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves.

~PlayerTwoHeere


	2. the age old argument (boyf riends and playride)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> request from mimi:
> 
> Hey I would love a story where Jeremy and Christine are besties that talk about musicals and there partners Michael and Brook making jokes about there nerdy love one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just love jesus christ superstar okay, it’s a problem

Sounds of arguing issued from the booth table in the corner where four teenagers sat. Brooke Lohst was in the furthest corner from the door, her girlfriend Christine curled next to her with her feet under her. Across from them were Jeremy Heere and his boyfriend, Michael Mell. They looked to all the world to be on a double date. Which technically they were, just not with the people most would assume they were with.

The argument between the two teenagers wasn’t violent in the least. They were, however, turning quite a few heads in the Pinkberry. It wasn’t every day you saw a tall brown haired boy arguing about musicals with a much shorter girl over frozen yogurt. 

“No, the original was so much better!” Christine insisted, brushing her dark hair behind her ear. She was looking at Jeremy like he’d just told her that he’d killed a cat- upset, and slightly disgusted. 

Jeremys, sitting across from her, sighed. He gestured widely with his plastic froyo spoon, dripping some on the table. “Chris, the original Jesus couldn’t sing that well! Plus, the camera quality was awful. And Jesus was kind of annoying-“

“What- Jeremy, you’re Jewish, why do you care?” Christine asked, raising an eyebrow.

“What does that matter? C’mon, you have to agree with me, the live performance from 2001 was better than the one from the 70s.” Jeremy wheedled. “Everything’s Alright? Can We Start Again? Way better in the revival…” He trailed off, like he was convincing her to do something she didn’t want.

Christine huffed, stabbing her spoon into her frozen yogurt. After a few seconds of looking at Jeremy, she finally sighed. “Okay, I do admit that the revival from 2001 had a better Mary Magdelene.” She conceded. 

Next to her, Brooke let out a small snort of laughter, exchanging a look with Michael across the table. Michael was watching Jeremy, smiling amusedly. The two theater kids were engrossed in their discussion. Michael was pretty sure he could set off a bomb and that would only start them talking about Heathers.

Ever since the play incident, Jeremy and Christine had been a lot closer. Sure, for a while, they had been dating, but they decided they were better off as friends. Michael was the only one who had known how badly Jeremy took the hit, but then Christine invited him over on a casual friends hang out to watch Newsies. Then Jeremy was hooked, and Christine had been delighted to show him more and more shows. 

Michael tolerated it, and usually when he had to listen to them bicker about who played a better Jack Kelly or which recording was better of Great Comet, he had Brooke to commiserate with. 

“I swear, they could do this for hours.” The blond girl murmured across the table, looking over at her girlfriend affectionately. Brooke had respect for musicals- one had to, as Christine’s girlfriend. Or Christine’s anything, for that matter. What she liked most was the way Christine’s eyes lit up and she started talking a mile a minute, not stopping until Brooke interrupted her. 

Michael snorted. “I know. Remember that time you were sick? I had to sit here and listen to them go on and on about whether or not Jared Kleinman was the antagonist of Dear Evan Hansen.” He said with a wide grin. Brooke gave an exaggerated wince in sympathy, but laughed.

“Sounds riveting.” She said with a laugh, glancing at the two. To the best of her knowledge, Christine was trying to convince Jeremy that the high priest dude was better in the original. Brooke had watched Jesus Christ Superstar with Christine, to humour her. In exchange, Christine had watched a few episodes of Gilmore Girls. So, she knew vaguely of what Jeremy and Christine were discussing. 

Michael scooped up some more froyo, sticking it in his mouth. “How’d we manage to get stuck with such dorks?” He asked, teasingly, looking over at Jeremy. He usually only found his boyfriend’s face that excited and shining when the other was talking about something he loved. 

“More like how we were blessed with them.” Brooke said with a grin. “Seriously, the only time Jerry looks that animated is when he’s talking about video games or you.” She scraped the bottom of her froyo cup, finishing it off happily.

Michael glanced over at his boyfriend. Jeremy’s cheeks were flushed slightly, his smile easy and happy, his eyes shining. He looked utterly adorable. Michael found it hard to believe that Jeremy looked like that when talking about him. There was a sudden pain in Michael’s shin, and he yelped, turning to glare at Brooke. The shorter girl flashed him a wide smile. “You’re staring-“ She singsonged, jabbing at his froyo with her spoon. 

“C’mon, you make heart eyes at Christine every time you see her.” Michael teased right back, proud to see the blonde’s cheeks flush, and she stuck her spoon in her mouth.

“Besides the point.” She said dismissively from around the spoon, and Michael suddenly realized something. 

He looked down at the table, then at Brooke. He narrowed his eyes teasingly. “You can’t steal my froyo.” 

Brooke raised an eyebrow. “I just did.” She pulled the spoon out, looking down at the cup. “This tastes funny, what flavour did you get?”

“Soy milk. Lactose intolerant, remember?” Michael rolled his eyes, trying to take his cup of froyo back. 

Brooke held it as far away as she could from Michael’s long arms. “Well, at least you put enough gummy worms on it to make me forget that it tastes weird.”

Michael let out a sigh, dramatic enough to be Jeremy-worthy. “Fine, you leave me no choice.” He leaned over, pressing his lips to Jeremy’s cheek, stopping him midsentence. There was an ‘aw’ from both girls as Jeremy’s face went bright pink.

“Michael, why-“ Then he looked over, at Michael. Proudly eating from his froyo. “You can’t steal my froyo!” He whined, protesting in the exact same way as Michael had.

Michael gave him a wink. “I just did.” He said with a laugh. Then he looked down at the flavour, wrinkling his nose. “Jeremy, I’m breaking up with you.”

Suddenly, the entire table fell silent. Brooke turned owlish eyes on Michael, in a look that said what-in-the-world-are-you-doing. Christine dropped her spoon with a plastic clatter on the table. Jeremy’s happiness faded, and he looked scared. “Wh-What?”

“I can’t stay with a boy who thinks Cotton Candy is still a decent flavour.” But Michael’s grin faded quickly. “You thought I was being serious, Jer?” 

Jeremy let out a shaky laugh. “What, no, I totally did… not.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Michael sighed. “I was kidding, Jerbear, don’t worry about it.” He gave Jeremy a soft grin, pulling him into a sidearmed hug. He slid the other boy’s froyo back down the table. 

Christine laughed, leaning against Brooke herself. Brooke turned her head to gently kiss the other girl’s head. 

Jeremy gave a small grin. It was a bit weird to see two of your ex’s dating each other, but the two girls were so cute together that he didn’t even mind. “We should get going, Micha.” He muttered, not really wanting to get up, but doing so anyways. “Thanks for bringing us, Brooke.” 

Michael raised a teasing eyebrow, but he nodded, standing as well. “Yeah, thanks.” He stole his froyo back from Brooke, but the girl looked so upset that he sighed and handed it back. “You can have the rest.” She lit up, grinning widely. 

“You’re the best, Michael.” She said fondly. She gave the two boys a small wave, and Christine jumped up to hug Jeremy. 

“Chris, you’ll see me tom-“ Then she whispered something in his ear, and Jeremy frowned, turning red. “C’mon, I wasn’t going to- that’s not- fine.” He glanced over at Michael, extracting himself from the hug and grabbing his hand, pulling the other boy away. 

As the door swung open, Brooke called, “Be safe, you two!” Without even turning around, Jeremy flipped her off, and Michael burst out laughing, the door shutting behind them. 

After the door shut, Brooke turned to Christine. “What’d you say to Jeremy?” She asked curiously, making her girlfriend give her a mischievous grin. She took her time to finish her froyo before answering. 

“I told him to wait until they got to the car to make out with Michael.” She said casually, making Brooke burst into surprised laughter. Christine ended up laughing as well, leaning on her girlfriend’s shoulder happily. When the laughter finally subsided, Christine spoke. “You’re adorable.” She said with a grin, tugging on Brooke’s hand and pulling her out of the booth and lacing their fingers together. The two girls exited the small shop, letting the door swing shut behind them, the bell trilling happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so,, i think i did a little less jeremy and christine and a bit more brooke and michael but its some cute stuff nonetheless, even if i’m bad at ending the fluff.
> 
> requests are open, but they’ll take me a bit of time!! i have four planned out.


	3. blame (richjake)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> request from baby_bibibi
> 
> if you can,, maybe richjake ??   
> like, rich and jake are hanging out at jakes new place, but rich has been acting really weird the past week, so jake tries questioning him about it and if it has something to do with the SQUIP and rich has a breakdown, is constantly apologizing and is like ' im sorry i dont deserve you ' and jake just tries comforting him ??   
> sorry if thats too specific hh

It had been ten weeks since the play. Nine weeks since Jeremy woke up, and Rich came out. Seven since Jake recovered enough to use just crutches rather than a wheelchair. Six since Jake had come out as pan- after a lot of research, and help from Michael and Brooke. Five since they had started dating. Four weeks since Jake had gotten his new apartment. Two weeks since their second date, and their first kiss. 

And one week since Rich had started acting weird again.

Sure, he still seemed like the same Rich that Jake knew. He was loud, energetic, a bit lewd at times, surprisingly caring. Jake might seem like he was completely oblivious to his surroundings, but he had noticed the way Rich jumped at loud noises, the way he laughed a bit too loud, like he was forcing himself to, the way he was trying to regulate his slight lisp no matter how many times Jake told him that he liked it. 

Jake figured he was just jumpier than usual because of something he had said. Maybe something was going on at home, with his dad, and if that was the case, Jake had definitely learned not to push the matter. But as he kept a closer eye on the shorter boy, he knew what Rich was reminding him of. It was almost like… the week before Halloween. Something was wrong, really wrong.

Especially now, when he glanced over at Rich. The other boy was curled on the other end of the sofa- not actually that odd, considering Jake was awful at unpacking, and there were still boxes on the old couch he’d picked up off of eBay. (Note to self: Creepy men with sweaty hands selling couches are only a step above kidnappers in his book.) However, it wasn’t that hard to move a box, and Jake tried not to be hurt that Rich didn’t seem to want to sit with him. 

But a few minutes into whatever TV show was on the screen, Rich’s eyes seemed to be unfocused, like he wasn’t watching the show at all, but rather something floating in front of it. That set off red flags in Jake’s brain, and he shifted the box on the couch to the floor, sliding over until he was sitting next to the shorter boy. 

Rich didn’t even seem to notice, but once Jake got closer he could tell that it was worse than he’d thought. Rich’s face was pale, like he’d just seen a ghost. Judging by the way he was staring at seemingly nothing, that could be more likely than Jake thought. Jake moved his arm, trying to put it around Rich subtly, but as soon as he touched the other boy, he nearly leaped out of his skin. “Don’t touch me!” He growled, scrambling away from Jake. He sounded almost like his squipped self, and he was tensed up on the other side of the couch.

Jake held up his hands in defense, looking concernedly at Rich. “Hey, it’s okay, man. It’s just me.” He said, trying to soothe his boyfriend. Rich looked almost like he deflated, caving into himself, almost like a balloon losing its air. “Rich, what’s going on? You’ve been acting weird all week.” 

There was another one of those forced laughs. “I’m fine, Jake, it’s nothing.” He said, giving Jake a lopsided grin with no actual joke or happiness behind it. 

Jake shook his head. “No, you’re not.” He paused, speaking before Rich could protest his words. “Is it, you know, something with your folks?” He asked, a little hesitantly. He knew Rich hated talking about his family, but the shorter boy shook his head. 

“Nah, everything’s… fine at home.” The way he said ‘fine’ told Jake that it really wasn’t, but he frowned. Something was wrong with Rich, and if it wasn’t family issues…

“Then is it the…” He wondered how to phrase this. He knew Rich hated hearing the word, so instead he only tapped the side of his head, as if indicating his brain. 

Immediately, Rich stiffened again, and in one moment his eyes had flickered to his left towards the TV screen, or whatever he was looking at, then back to Jake’s face. He hesitated, not responding.

Jake reached out his hand. “Look, you can tell me.” He said, resisting the urge to beg Rich to tell him, then pull the shorter boy into his arms. He didn’t know if Rich wanted to be hugged, or touched. Rich balked from his hand. Jake was reminded of the dog he had when he was younger. The previous owners hadn’t been the nicest, and she never wanted to be touched for fear of being hurt. It took a while for her to warm up to new people. 

Jake pulled his hand away, holding it a little ways away, in case Rich needed something to hold onto. “Is it the… SQUIP?” He asked, and with that one word, Rich finally broke down.

It was unlike Jake had ever seen him, not ever in their years of friendship and months of dating. Rich normally had carried himself like he was, well, cool. Like no one should mess with him. Right then, he looked like Jake had imagined he looked in freshman year- small, almost pitiful. “I’m tho sorry.” He muttered, arms wrapping around himself and clutching at his shirt. 

“Woah, you don’t need to apologize, it’s okay.” Jake said, genuinely confused as to why he was apologizing. Sure, he could have told Jake earlier, but Jake knew that Rich didn’t like telling people when there was something wrong. Really, Jake should be the one apologizing for not noticing sooner.

Rich shook his head so quickly that his hair just became a messy, red-brown blur. “No, no, I’m thorry, I don’t-“ Were those tears in Rich’s eyes? Jake’s heart plummeted further and further into his stomach. “I don’t deserve you, you detherve better, I’m so thorry-“ He slipped in and out of his lisp with such rapidity Jake found it hard to follow along. 

He decided to say screw whatever reason Rich didn’t want to be touched, he had to jolt his boy out of the wormhole he was falling into in his head. He put his hands on Rich’s shoulders, which made the boy’s breath catch and his eyes turn up to his. “Look, Richy, it’s fine.” He said, soothingly. He had no clue what he was doing, but Rich needed him right now. He was going to do his goddamn best to comfort him. 

Rich was definitely swallowing back tears. “It’th not, I fucked it all up. It’th becauthe of me you need thith houthe, it’th becauthe of me that Jeremy took that damned thing, it’th becauthe of me it all went wrong.” He was nearly spitting the words, abandoning his efforts to control his lisp.

Jake’s hands went to cup Rich’s face, looking at him. “It’s not a big deal, okay? That house was too big for just me, y’know, and I don’t blame you.” He did, slightly, but he knew that it wasn’t Rich’s fault, not really. 

Rich would have shook his head again if Jake’s hands weren’t holding his face. “Your- your legth- It’th my fault, it’th all my fault, I don’t detherve you.” He was crying freely now, his breathing shaky and ragged. Jake wanted to kiss him, but figured that was the opposite of what the other boy needed. 

“Shh, shh.” He said, wiping Rich’s face as gently as he could. “It’s not your faul-“

“But it ith!” Rich said, interrupting the word. “It ith my fault, I’m tho thorry, I-“ His next words were muffled by Jake pulling him onto his lap, and Rich pressed his face into the taller boy’s shoulder, his own shaking. “I’m thorry.” He murmured, clutching at Jake’s shirt. Jake knew it would probably be soaked with tears by the time Rich was done, but he would worry about that later. He just focused on letting Rich cry, knowing no one else would let him cry. 

His one hand gently played with Rich’s hair, the other trailing soothingly up and down his back. He wondered how much he was actually helping, but he didn’t worry about that. When Rich’s tears subsided to the occassional hiccuping sob, Jake pressed his lips to his hair. “There we go, Richy.” He murmured quietly. “We’ll get you some Red from Michael next time we see him, okay?” Rich nodded against his shoulder. “And I don’t blame you, it wasn’t your fault.” He knew Rich was about to protest, so he continued. “I know you blame yourself, but you were controlled by that thing. It’s really persuasive, I know, and I barely had it for five minutes.” 

Rich nodded again, then finally spoke, a bit out of the blue. “I love you.” Jake was pretty sure his heart stopped. He knew Rich was awful at commitment. Hell, he’d never said anything along those lines to Jake even after they started dating. 

He gave a soft smile, though, and he pulled away enough to kiss Rich’s forehead. “Love you too.” When he did, though, he noticed that Rich wasn’t even awake anymore, and he laughed a little at how cute he looked, even when his face was tearstained and his hair was a mess and he’d just had a nervous breakdown. Jake shifted on the couch, arms wrapped around his boyfriend, and eventually fell asleep as well, both a tangle of arms and legs. Maybe his boy was a little messed up, but Jake was determined to keep him as safe as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so how was my first time truly writing these boys? i kinda feel proud of myself, and also a little bad for them tbh. But richjake is fucking cute so i loved writing this. Plus my mother thinks i’m weird because she came in to me ranting about how i had 333 words and they hadn’t interacted yet out loud in my bedroom. But c’est la vie.
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoyed!!


	4. i think this is the epitome of crack written seriously

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> requested by Dev_Bee
> 
> The SQUIP getting a literal punch to the face. Please.

Jeremy Heere had learned to stay away from any Mountain Dew products ages ago. After a fiasco senior year of the punch at Homecoming containing the bright green drink, he had to make sure that he didn’t drink any more. No more breakdowns in front of the whole school.

 

But he figured other flavours of Mountain Dew were okay, as long as he had some Red on hand. 

 

He didn’t think much of the bright, electric blue soda he had drank. At least, not until he woke up screaming because the Keanu Reeves-like figure stood over him, like some sort of creepy stalker bat thing. Actually, a bit like Edward Cullen, come to think of it. He shuddered to think of that. It looked to be very similar to what he had seen before, but oddly, this one wasn’t transparent in the least. It looked almost… fleshed out, opaque. It still wore the same stupid get-up that Jeremy remembered.

 

“Jeremy Heere.” It said, in that cold, slightly robotic voice. It sounded different, like it wasn’t just inside his head anymore.

 

“What the  _ fuck _ are you doing here?” He said, wishing this was all a dream, some fucked up nightmare. Had his roommate snuck vodka into that soda? He wouldn’t be surprised, actually. 

 

“Thanks to you, I am now fully functional again. Normal Mountain Dew reboots me, but Mountain Dew Voltage sends an electrical impulse to my internal systems.” The SQUIP raised its eyebrow. “Which jumpstarted the transparency regulator, making it cease to function. Luckily, I managed to divert the energy flow towards my other necessary ports, leading me to-“

 

Jeremy held up his hand. Mostly, he was trying not to freak out internally, but also trying and failing to follow what the thing was saying. “So, what you’re saying is that you’re not transparent anymore.”

 

“That is correct. My functions are now more of the physical variety, which may be exactly what you need to elevate your social status-“ The SQUIP started, but Jeremy interrupted him. 

 

“So, you can touch me now.” Jeremy was seriously banking on the fact that this was some fucked up alcohol dream. 

 

“Affirmative. Now, we really should get to work-“ 

 

Jeremy interrupted him again. “Does that mean I can touch you now?” He asked, propping himself up on his elbows. He sincerely hoped his dormmate didn’t wake up to see him talking to a mysterious man in a trenchcoat by his bed. 

 

The SQUIP considered this for a moment, then nodded. “I suppose that would be correct.” It said, and Jeremy didn’t even have time to think about what he was doing, which may have been why the SQUIP didn’t intercept his fist.

 

Jeremy’s hand smashed into the side of the SQUIP’s face, and he was surprised when it actually made contact. The figure crumpled on the ground, more out of surprise than anything else. “Fuck off.” Jeremy said, before going to the fridge. He desperately hoped that there was Red left, and that it would work. He grabbed the bottle, making eye contact with the SQUIP, who was advancing before downing a swig of the drink. The thing seemed to explode, almost, into fractals of bright blue light, before blinking out of existence with a guttural scream. 

 

Jeremy woke in his bed a few hours later, groggy and confused. Had that actually happened? He looked at his hand, realizing that his knuckles were a little bruised, and a bottle of Mountain Dew Red stood on his nightstand. He thought back to what had happened in the middle of the night and ended up laughing so hard he woke up his roommate. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i did this one of your requests first, but i just found it so hilarious that i couldn’t resist. I banged this out in like 10 minutes and lowkey hate it but i also love it.


	5. OKAY THIS IS IMPORTANT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yep i’m sorry

okay,,

new requests are temporarily closed. i’m sorry for anyone who has new ideas, but i’m working on all of your requests!!

however, there’s just too many to keep up with. All the ones suggested will, eventually, get written, but it may take a while.

again, sorry for anyone that has new requests, and those that requested things more recently, as those will take longer. 

stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves

~PlayerTwoHeere


	6. how do you solve a problem like dysphoria (stagedorks)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dev_Bee requested:
> 
> Trans!Jeremy is cast as a girl in a play and there's a lot of feelings, Jeremy/Christine or Jeremy/Michael.
> 
> //i went stagedorks because yes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oKAY I’M SORRY ABOUT THE NAME I COULDNT THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE BUT ITS AN AWFUL JOKE

Jeremy Heere sat staring at his laptop screen where the cast list glowed. He’d been staring at it for almost ten minutes, reading and rereading it almost obsessively. It was a good show, a good cast list, but something was devastatingly wrong.

All the other roles were perfect, but he couldn’t stop looking at his name. It wasn’t that it was a small part, not in the least. It was a rather large part, the main role. It was the exact role that made Jeremy’s stomach feel like it wanted to eject itself from his body, quickly followed by the rest of his organs. 

Maria: Jeremy Heere.

With those three words, every cell in his body was screaming ‘no, no, no’ on repeat. He was jerked out of his thoughts when his phone buzzed on the desk next to his laptop. Christine’s name popped up on the screen, the ominous single word that made him feel even worse about this entire situation. He picked up the phone, putting it to his ear. “Hey.” 

Christine didn’t seem to notice how his voice was a little choked, her excited voice issuing from the phone speaker. “Hi, Jer, oh my god! I just saw the cast list, it’s so good!! I’m so happy to be Liesel, she’s got my favourite song, even if she’s a bit naive- I wanted to be Maria, but I’m so happy you got the part instead!”

Jeremy gave a soft smile at her excitement. While she was adorable, he knew that if he didn’t interrupt his girlfriend, she’d end up rambling and he’d never get a word in. “Believe me, if I could give you that part, I would in a heartbeat.” He said, and even to himself, he sounded upset. There was silence on the other end for a few seconds. 

“That’s sweet of you, but c’mon, it’s the part of a lifetime! You get to be Julie Andrews!” Christine said, taking his upset words as kindness. She had been talking about the cast list coming out ever since they auditioned the last week.

“It’s a girl’s part, Christine.” Jeremy said, and immediately regretted his words. 

More silence, then Christine’s voice sounded a little reproachful. All her excitement had dissipated. “What’s wrong with it being a girl’s part?” He should’ve known that she’d be offended by it. She was always talking about the strength of female characters, she probably assumed that since he was so offended, he was being sexist.

“Chris, it’s not because of that, it’s just- I’m a boy!” That probably only enforced her thoughts of him being sexist. He cursed himself. He hated making her upset. 

“Yes, Jeremy, I know that! But boys play girl’s parts all the time! In Shakespeare’s pla-“ 

“This isn’t Shakespeare!” Jeremy snapped, and the silence was longer this time. He felt a lump in his throat. “And I am not a girl.” 

“I know that! So you’ll have to wear fake breasts-“ Christine must be angry, she wasn’t usually this blunt.

“They won’t be fake, Christine!” He interrupted. He surprised himself as he sounded close to tears. 

There was silence for long enough that Jeremy was afraid that Christine had hung up on him. His chest felt tight, tighter even than it usually did. “What?” 

Jeremy’s world came crashing down. He had really been planning on telling Christine, but not like this. He’d wanted to tell her when they were a bit further in their relationship. She probably wouldn’t care, she’d probably accept him, but what if she hated the fact that he wasn’t… “I s-said, they wouldn’t be f-fake.” He stuttered out, the words tripping over themselves. He felt himself tearing up, and he blinked them to stare at his laptop again. 

“Jeremy…” Christine’s voice was surprisingly steady, and inquisitive, and Jeremy didn’t want to answer her next question. “What are you saying?” 

Jeremy’s mouth felt dry, and he realized he was crying. His voice was choked as he finally spat out the two words he’d been trying to find a way to say to her for months. “I’m tr-trans.”

“Oh, Jeremy.” Christine’s voice was soft, almost pitying. 

Jeremy found the words spilling out of him, much like his tears, every word he’d wanted to say for ages. “I’m so sorry for not telling you s-sooner, I just thought you’d- you’d be disgusted because y-your boyfriend-“

“Is still my boyfriend.” She said quietly. Jeremy stopped talking, almost out of surprise. “Did you think that I’d hate you because of how you are? I don’t mind that you’re trans-“

“You d-don’t?” 

Christine’s easy laugh made Jeremy’s heart just a little lighter, and he sniffled. “Of course I don’t, Jer.” Jeremy let out a shaky breath of relief, which made Christine laugh a little more. “I just feel a little offended you didn’t tell me sooner.”

Jeremy winced, and he looked down at his knees, curled in the desk chair as he was. “I’m s-sorry-“ 

Jeremy heard a shuffling that he was pretty sure was Christine shaking her head. “No, no, Jeremy, it’s okay.” He could hear the smile in her voice. “If you want, I can, um, go to Mr. Reyes and talk to him about it? I’m sure he won’t be that awful about it-“

Then it was Jeremy’s turn to shake his head. “N-No, you’re… you’re r-right. Boys play girl’s p-parts all the time, right?” He didn’t sound convinced. He didn’t want to do this, but this was the role of a lifetime. He wanted to do it, and he could. Right?

“You don’t have to, you know. But…” Christine understood wanting to play a role despite misconceptions about it. “I’ll be there to help in any way I can, okay? I promise.” 

Jeremy cracked a small smile. His girlfriend was honestly the best, most supportive girlfriend he could ever ask for. “O-Okay, Chrissy.” He paused, before saying words he hadn’t really said before. “Love you.” 

He was over the moon when Christine responded, almost immediately, “Love you too!” He could tell she was grinning, and his heart pounded. 

“I’ll see you later, okay?” He said, happily. 

“Bye, Jer!” There was a small noise as she hung up, and Jeremy flopped back in his chair, looking at the screen again. Now, the words didn’t seem so scary anymore. Sure, he was scared about what would happen to him- what would this do to his mental health? Would he actually be okay with this? He didn’t know. What he did know was that Christine, no matter what, would be there every single step of the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow,, um,, this took me so long?? i was so worried i wrote it wrong, i scrapped my first drafts at least three times. so this is the final product.
> 
> i’m sorry if i accidentally said anything to offend anyone, and feel free to correct me if i got anything wrong! i’m not well versed in this headcanon, but i tried my best. 
> 
> requests are still closed, but they should be coming a lot faster now.
> 
> stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves!!
> 
> ~PlayerTwoHeere


	7. doodled stars and brookie bars (pinkberry)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dev_Bee requested:
> 
> Chloe asks Brooke to go to prom with her. With Brookie Bars.

Brooke wasn’t exactly expecting a big promposal from anyone. All her eligible friends were either taken or not interested in her- but really, those were one and the same with some of her friends. Rich was happily in a relationship with Jake- Jake had already had some ridiculous promposal, Brooke had helped with the balloons. Jeremy and Michael were going together- Brooke had psyched Jeremy up before asking Michael, who had already planned on going with Jeremy anyways, so it was pointless. Hell, even Jenna and Christine were in some sort of limbo between dating and super close friendship, that no one could quite tell whether or not Jenna was joking when she asked Christine to go to prom with her. 

 

That left Brooke. Well, there was Chloe, but she probably had a date already. Because who wouldn’t jump at the chance to go to prom with Chloe Valentine, of all people? 

 

Apparently, no one. Brooke sat in the corner as Chloe turned down person after person, feeling somehow heartbroken and jealous and ecstatic all at once. Apparently Chloe was ‘already planning to ask someone’ but wouldn’t tell Brooke no matter how much she pleaded her best friend. 

 

Brooke let out a soft sigh, doodling on her arm with a felt tipped pen, connecting her freckles like miniature constellations, even drawing little stars over them absent-mindedly. Chloe barely even seemed to notice her. It had been months since Halloween, and the play, and the squip fiasco, and they had managed to talk everything out. There had been many tears, quite a few arguments, but they eventually got to a point of no secrets between the two of them. No more fighting over boys. 

 

So why on earth was Chloe being so secretive? All Brooke wanted was to talk to her. She wanted those late night phone calls lamenting about how no one would ever want to date her, just to get the slight thrill of Chloe complimenting her- something she barely did to anyone, not even Brooke. A little shallow, maybe, but there was an underlying trace of truth to Brooke’s complaints, anyways.

 

Brooke let her head hit the desk, just as the bell rang for the end of the period. Thank god it was the end of the day. She felt like she’d go crazy if she had to sit through another lesson on economics or something. 

 

She wove her way through the halls, pulling out her phone as she went. She scrolled through her various social media, mostly so she didn’t have to talk to too many people. She wasn’t too interested in much. 

 

That is, until she opened her locker, a small pink envelope falling at her feet. Her brow furrowed in confusion. Who on earth would be putting letters in her locker? It was probably for Chloe, whose locker was next to hers. 

 

But no, when she turned it over, it said her name in flowing script. It looked fancy, and the writing looked vaguely familiar. She flipped it back over, breaking open the seal. She slid out a piece of paper, and in the same flowery writing was a very poorly rhymed, pretty cliche poem.

 

_ Roses are red, this paper is pink _

_ A surprise is waiting where you like to think _

 

It didn’t take Brooke that long to figure it out- the poem obviously meant the old bench at the back of the school. That rose a whole new question in Brooke’s head. Only a few people knew about her favourite place behind the school, where she liked to think. But she assumed this was a promposal, and most of the people who knew about it already had dates. So that narrowed it down to two people: Dustin Kropp, who’d seen her go there after school and sometimes went there to smoke, and Chloe. She knew which one she wanted, but she doubted it. Maybe someone else knew about her spot. 

 

Still, she made her way to her favourite place behind the school. When she arrived the bench, no one was there. She sighed, falling onto the bench. Of course it was just some cruel joke. 

 

Then she heard footsteps, and Jeremy Heere rounded the corner. He winced when he saw her, like he had been trying to get there before her. Brooke frowned. “Jeremy? Were you the one-“ She held up the pink envelope. It didn’t seem Jeremy’s style, actually. It more seemed like one of her other friends, but then, if it was Jeremy, he’d probably taken advice from someone else. 

 

But Jeremy shook his head, as Brooke had expected. He was already going with Michael, anyways. Instead, slightly panting, he held out another pink envelope. “I’m just the messenger, I was supposed to get out here earlier than you, but I got held up in class.” He said, with a small grin towards Brooke. 

 

Brooke frowned, and she looked down at the envelope. “Who’s it fr-“ But when she looked up, Jeremy had disappeared around the corner again. She sighed, slitting open the envelope and sliding out the paper inside. 

 

It was another poem, just as cliche and a little poorly written. Poetry was obviously not this person’s strong suit. 

 

_ Rich like a brownie, sweet like a cookie, _

_ How would you like to go to prom with me, Brookie? _

 

Brooke looked up and around, and finally saw her secret admirer. Chloe Valentine stood, barely two feet away. In her hands, she held a glass baking tray with what looked like brookie bars- brownie and chocolate all mixed into one, and on top, brown chocolate frosting spelled out the word ‘Prom?’ With the question mark smooshed against the side of the pan. 

 

Chloe looked, if possible, a little worried, and they made eye contact. Brooke had to process this. Chloe Valentine, her best friend, the girl she’d had a crush on for ages, was asking her to prom? 

 

Her face broke into a huge grin, and she raced towards the other girl, flinging her arms around Chloe’s neck as best she could without disrupting the tray of brookie bars in between them. “Yes, yes yes!” She said excitedly, nearly bouncing up and down. 

 

Chloe laughed, wrapping her own arms around Brooke’s waist, shifting the tray into her other hand. Brooke felt her chin rest on her head, and she felt overwhelmingly happy. After a little, she pulled away, too excited to stay in the hug. “How long did it take you to plan this?” She asked, sounding amused. 

 

Chloe seemed to be embarrassed. “Longer than you’d think.” Brooke realized that the taller girl’s cheeks were pink, and she was struck by an urge to kiss them. So she did, going on her tiptoes to press her lips against Chloe’s cheek. 

 

“The poetry was cute.” She said, a happy smile on her face. Chloe let out a sigh of relief. 

 

“It wasn’t too cliche?” 

 

Brooke laughed. “Oh, it was very cliche, but it was cute.” She pulled away, looking at the baking pan. “These look delicious.” 

 

Chloe nodded, and Brooke was reminded of the last time they had baked something- they had tried to make peanut butter cookies, and ended up almost setting Chloe’s oven on fire. “They’re not burnt, I promise.” Chloe said, as if reading her mind. 

 

And together, they sat on the bench at the back of the school, eating brookie bars with their fingers, chatting idly about prom dresses and other things that held little consequence in the long run. Brooke thought, stomach full of chocolate and heart full of happiness, that this really was her favourite place behind the school, even more now than ever. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that took a while oof,, but this was actually really fun to write!! also excuse my awful poems, I wrote them in a note on my phone at 3 am for laughs and they just kind of fit in the story.
> 
> anyways, so sorry to Dev_Bee for being so delayed with their requests!! I tried my best. 
> 
> stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves!
> 
> ~PlayerTwoHeere


	8. adored by him (pining expensive headphones)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> request from Blue_Pancake
> 
> Okay...  
> Soooo... You know that in the BMC revival Stage Dorks is so cute and there's some hint that Rick likes Michael...  
> \- Jeremy and Christine are dating; Michael is sad; Rich is going to help his crush.  
> Romantic or friendship, you choose! -w-
> 
> (OKAY I WAS SUPER BAD AT ACTUALLY FOLLOWING THIS REQUEST BUT IT JUST SET ME OFF ON THIS ROLLER COASTER SO I APOLOGIZE)

_ Pretty boy with the butterscotch hair  _

_ Your eyes and the sunshine smile you wear _

_ I can see how you make his soul glow _

 

Richard Goranski was in a very big predicament. Sure, he wasn’t in as big a predicament as he had been before- no shiny, happy hive-mind in his head, no squip telling him what to do. But now that it was gone, everything was just a little off.

 

It wasn’t that something was wrong, really. He was comfortable with himself, for once. He had friends that supported him. He had places to go to be free of his folks. But what he didn’t have was a certain antisocial headphones kid.

 

Michael Mell was…. well, he was a lot of things. He was witty, and attractive, and smart, and clever, and he’d saved them all from the takeover of the wintergreen tic tac from hell, and he was also absolutely smitten with Jeremiah Heere. 

 

Rich wished that Jeremy Heere, with his messy brown-gold-red hair that poets would probably describe as butterscotch, his bright eyes, and the slightly awkward smile that looked like a literal ray of sun when directed at people he liked- especially Michael- wasn’t able to make Michael literally seem to glow with happiness. It wasn’t goddamn fair.

 

_ Pretty girl with the adventurous mind _

_ You envision so much you make me look blind _

_ You spark his life in ways i’ll never know _

 

Michael Mell really wished that he had a chance. Sure, Jeremy had been pining over Christine for almost five years, but maybe, just maybe, they wouldn’t work out and Michael wouldn’t have to worry about his heart aching. 

 

No such luck. Christine and Jeremy were really adorable together, almost constantly. Even Michael had to admit it. They evened each other out- talkative energy and stuttering mess, tall and small, everything anyone could want in a couple.

 

Christine was, Michael hated to admit, the perfect girl for Jeremy. She was sweet, and kind, and pretty, with bright eyes and brown hair that almost looked like chocolate, and she had a mind of her own to pull Jeremy along with her. Jeremy would deny it, but he kind of needed someone to pull him along, make him better, and a someone that wasn’t a supercomputer implanted in his brain. 

 

It was a bit unfair that Christine could make Jeremy light up in ways Michael didn’t know how. He had known the boy for more than a decade, but for some reason, he didn’t- and probably wouldn’t- know how she managed to spark his life in so many ways.

 

_ And I won’t hate you but, oh, it stings _

_ How does it feel to be adored by him? _

 

Rich’s biggest issue with this? He couldn’t even hate Jeremy. It wasn’t that Jeremy was ridiculously likable, but without the squip in his head, Rich couldn’t bring himself to do more than resent Jeremy. It ached inside of him when Michael looked at Jeremy like he was the most precious thing in the world- how did it feel to be on the recieving end of that adoration?

 

_ And I won’t hate you but, oh, it stings _

_ How does it feel to be adored by him? _

 

The worst thing was that Michael was actually unable to hate Christine. She was too, well, Christine to be hated. Michael tried- god, did he try- to hate her, but it just wasn’t possible. Her soft smile and bright eyes and kind words and passionate speech made it hard to find fault with the girl. 

 

_ Pretty boy, there’s no need to fret _

_ It’s midnight, he’s drunk and you’re the one in his head _

_ You don’t even have to try at all _

 

“Michael, you’ve really got to lay off on the beer.” Rich muttered. He hated the smell of alcohol, it reminded him all too much of his dad- that’s why he didn’t drink, and why he was sober right now. But Michael didn’t seem to care much, or even hear Rich’s words. He seemed too lost in his head, and Rich could tell that he wasn’t thinking of him. 

 

“He’s just so perfect, y’know?” Michael slurred, even as he let the can be extracted from his grasp. Rich sighed, wrapping a steadying arm around the taller boy.

 

“Yeah, I know how you feel.” He muttered, and any sober person would be able to tell his bitter tone. Luckily, Michael didn’t seem to notice, leaning heavily on Rich’s shoulder.

 

_ Pretty girl, oh, he looks at you _

_ As if life is perfect and the world is new _

_ And in those moments I just feel so small _

 

Michael wasn’t normally a huge drinker. He hated parties, and hated alcohol, and hated the combinations of those two and bathrooms. But he was tired of watching Jeremy give that look to Christine- the one that said she was the only thing in the world that was beautiful, the one that said she made him believe that life was okay. It made him heartsick. Obviously, the only rational explanation was to make himself stomach sick. 

 

_ And I won’t hate you but, oh, it stings _

_ How does it feel to be adored by him? _

 

If only Michael could see that Jeremy wasn’t the only guy worth his time. If only Rich could make Michael like him back. If only he could get Michael to look at him the way he looked at Jeremy. If only he could be the one that was adored by him.

 

_ And I won’t hate you but, oh, it stings _

_ How does it feel to be adored by him? _

 

If only Michael could show Jeremy that he could be more than just his best friend. If only Michael could make Jeremy like him back. If only he could get Jeremy to look at him the way he looked at Christine. If only he could be the one that was adored by him.

 

_ How stupid to think that I could compare  _

_ To the pretty boy with the butterscotch hair _

 

Rich looked up at Michael, and he could see the look on his face- the one that he always seemed to get when looking at Jeremy. It was so much more obvious when he was drunk. Rich lugged him out to his car, not looking up at the taller boy again. He couldn’t. How was he supposed to compare to Jeremy Heere in Michael’s head? 

 

_ How stupid to think that I could compare _

_ To the pretty girl with the chocolate hair _

 

Michael sat in the passenger seat of Rich’s car, trying not to throw up. His head was still stuck with Jeremy at the party. God, how was he ever supposed to be like Christine to Jeremy? He was stupid to think that he ever could. He looked over at Rich, who seemed to be just as upset as he was. He didn’t think much of it- a concerned face, possibly. 

 

For the remainder of the ride, both of them were thinking the same thing: How does it feel to be adored by him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay I’m not sure what you were expecting, since it’s me writing this. but i’m sorry?? you probably wanted fluff and you got this shitshow of an angst and hurt/comfort thing. i was originally going to have rich kiss michael but uh,, that didn’t fit with the vibe i was going for. so they’re both still stuck in the pining stage but you’ve got rich looking after michael so i guess that works.
> 
> anyways!! really looking forward to writing the next requests!!
> 
> see you next post
> 
> stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves!!
> 
> ~PlayerTwoHeere


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> request by MusicalTrashMemes124:
> 
> Basically after the play Michael and Jeremy and supposed to be buddies again but Jeremy is the only one trying. Michael feels ignored so he makes it easier to be ignored. Michael starts drifting away and it looks as if he’s almost disappeared until Jeremy saves the day!

The silence from Michael was almost deafening. The chatter of the cafeteria filled Jeremy’s head, but he hadn’t heard Michael speak a single word, other than ‘sup,’ as he sat at the table. Jeremy stole glances at him, between sentences of conversation. 

Michael looked the same as ever- dark hair, half sticking up and half flopping in his eyes, shorter on the sides than on the top. Dark rimmed glasses framing dark eyes. Tanned skin with the traces of smile lines and dimples. White headphones firmly over his ears as if to block out the world. Red hoodie with the sleeves pulled up almost to his fingers, which were wrapped around an undrunk Slushie. 

Normal Michael, Jeremy’s best friend. Except he wasn’t. The Michael Jeremy knew was normally chattering about something- a Discovery channel documentary, an article about the planet’s atmosphere, some little factoid he’d learned on the internet. This Michael was silent, watching everything out from under his glasses, even when he didn’t seem to look up from his sushi he’d barely touched.

It had been two months since the play. Jeremy figured they were on good terms again, after a million apologies and late night phone calls. He had even invited Michael to sit at the lunch table with him and his new friends, thinking that he felt lonely. 

Michael was just shy, wasn’t he? He’d hated new people for as long as Jeremy could remember. Sure, Jeremy was anxious, but he still liked people. Maybe it was because of some sick need for validation, but he liked being around people, after he got comfortable talking to them. It was starting friendships that was hard for the two of them. So Jeremy didn’t think much of it when Michael barely spoke. 

More and more lunch periods and weekend hangouts and text conversations came and went, and still Michael was silent. 

Jeremy leaned over and gently poked the other boy’s side, furrowing his brows at him until he slid the headphones onto his neck. “Yeah?” Michael said. He sounded tired, had he always sounded this tired? 

“You okay?” Jeremy said quietly, trying not to draw attention to them. What kind of a best friend would he be if he made a show out of asking him? A shallow one, that’s what. 

“Fine.” Michael muttered, giving Jeremy a smile that Jeremy knew well- not the one he normally gave Jeremy, before it all started, wide and toothy and dimpled. This one was small, more of a smirk than anything, tight-lipped and forced. Jeremy couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Michael actually smile like he used to. It was always like this, fake and sad and solemn. 

“No, you’re-“ Jeremy started, but then Christine tapped his shoulder, saying something about the musical, and Jeremy got distracted. So distracted, in fact, that he didn’t even notice that Michael had slipped away. 

And so on it went. Jeremy figured Michael was being shy, or anxious, or just was still upset with Jeremy. 

‘I’m jealous you try,’ he had said during the play. Michael didn’t seem to be trying to do anything. He just seemed to be fading further into the background. 

It was a bit like shining a bright light at something to make the shadow go away. It just didn’t work. In theory, bringing something into brighter light would make everything around it brighter, too. But all it did was make the shadow darker than ever. 

No matter how much Jeremy shined a light on Michael, the shadow got even darker, until he was just another part of the dark background. 

Finally, Jeremy was fed up with it. On Friday night, almost four months after the play, Jeremy went over to the Mell household with the rebooted Apocalypse of the Damned game (which they would probably just make fun of and compare to the original constantly), a bunch of Doritos, and a cherry slushie for Michael. He was going to force Michael to tell him. Not the best plan, but he didn’t know what else to do. 

He knocked on the front door, but there was no answer. Michael’s mothers didn’t seem to be there either- not too odd of an occurence, but still. Usually Michael hated being home alone. Jeremy always ended up texting him or something until they were back. Jeremy unlocked the door with the spare key, thankful it was still in the same place it always had been. He pushed open the door and crept through the house, brow furrowed. 

Silence. No video games, no creak of the floorboards from awkward dancing, no music blasting from speakers. Hell, he didn’t even smell weed from the basement. Either Michael was also out or something was very, very wrong. 

Then Jeremy noticed the light in his bedroom on. Without knocking, Jeremy pushed it open to find Michael sitting on his bed, cross-legged. In front of him was a box, full of small trinkets- pictures, keychains, figurines, letters. Jeremy could see his old handwriting, an ancient piece of paper where they had pledged to be ‘best friends forever.’ 

Jeremy set the bag on the floor. Michael didn’t seem to notice him, headphones on and staring at one specific thing. It was a photobooth strip of photos, and Jeremy immediately recognized them. They were from the mall, on Michael’s thirteenth birthday. Jeremy couldn’t help but smile- he had loved that day. The two of them had been given money, and ended up spending it all on video games, food, and arcade tokens.

“Hey.” He said, making Michael’s head snap towards him, utterly shocked and surprised. 

“Jer- what- what’re you doing in my house?” Michael shoved the box under a blanket, as if Jeremy hadn’t already seen it. 

Jeremy held up the bag. “I, um, I brought games. And snacks. We haven’t hung out in a while, I miss it.”

For some reason, that made Michael snort derisively. “Could’ve fooled me. Don’t you have a girlfriend to talk to? New friends to meet up with? Old friends to abandon?” He said, with more venom than Jeremy thought he had ever heard in his voice, ever.

“What- Michael, c’mon. First of all, Christine and I broke up almost three weeks ago. And what the hell are you talking about?” Jeremy couldn’t help but snap at the other boy.

Michael scoffed. “Oh, nothing, just how you always seem to find another person so quickly. Move on fast, don’t you? New clothes, new lunch table, new girlfriend… new best friend.” 

Suddenly everything made sense to Jeremy. “That’s what this is about?” He said incredulously, staring at Michael. “You’re jealous-“

“I am not jealous!” Michael snapped, interrupting Jeremy. His cheeks were flushed and there were tears in his eyes. 

“Really, because you seem pretty jealous!”

“You would know that if you hadn’t been ignoring me for the past month and a half!” 

“You’re not exactly making it easy to talk to you! You mope around with your headphones on all during lunch. Why won’t you just give them a shot? They’re nice people, I swear-“

Michael narrowed his eyes. “Rich bullied us for years, Jeremy-“

“That was because of his SQUIP, it wasn’t-“

Michael held up a hand. “I’m not finished. Jenna has spread so many rumors about us it’s ridiculous. Jake let Rich bully us, and maybe that’s a stupid argument, but if he was really a good guy, would he have let that happen?”

“They’ve apologized-“

“Oh, maybe they are better people than you are then.” Michael said, in mock admiration. Sarcasm dripped from his words.

“Michael, I’ve apologized-“ 

“Have you?” Michael snapped. He turned around, grabbing the strip of photos and holding them out to Jeremy. “Remember this day? Best day of my life, and I spent it with you. My best friend. Who now can’t even look me in the eye at school for more than thirty seconds before he’s swept away by some popular kid.” Jeremy opened his mouth, but Michael continued. “How many days have we spent together? How many late nights and two-person parties and arcade games and all that shit. And you threw it all away for what? Popularity? To get laid? And now you can’t even fucking apologize!”

“I’m sorry, okay?” Jeremy burst out. “I’m sorry I left you in the bathroom. I’m sorry I took that damn tic tac. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I was so stuck in my head that I thought it was the only way out. But don’t you ever fucking say that I don’t care about you.” Jeremy was pretty sure they were both crying, or at least tearing up. He shoved the bag into Michael’s arms, voice choked with the next two words he spoke. “I’m sorry.” 

Then he stepped away, leaving Michael’s bedroom so quickly he almost tripped. The other boy did nothing to stop him, and Jeremy ended up on his front porch, crying. He didn’t even know why he was crying. Maybe because he could have just lost his best friend.

It was cold, really cold. Jeremy hadn’t considered the fact that it was almost snowing when he left. His teeth chattered, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. 

Jeremy woke up the next morning, curled on Michael’s couch with his head on a pillow, wrapped in a blanket. Michael sat at the other end of the couch, game controller in his hand, focused on what looked to be the Apocalypse reboot. Once he noticed Jeremy awake, he glanced over at him. 

“Morning. You know, you’re kinda dumb. Who sits in thirty degree weather in only a sweater? Called your dad, let him know where you were.” Michael gave Jeremy a small, lopsided grin, which Jeremy returned sleepily.

His smile faded, though. “Michael, I’m so-“ 

But Michael stopped him, holding out a controller to Jeremy. “Save it. We’ll talk later. For now, help me beat this level, okay?” 

Jeremy opened his mouth to insist that they talk about this now, figure it all out, but the idea of video games was tempting. He took the controller, sitting up, still half-wrapped in the blanket. 

Maybe they weren’t perfect. Maybe they had a lot of shit to figure out between them. But for now, they were like they always were- best friends, against the world. Or at the very least, Nintendo zombies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowza sorry for the long wait!! trying to catch up on schoolwork and things i haven’t finished yet, but at long last, we have this request! 
> 
> i’m not sure how well i did with the whole ‘jeremy saves the day’ thing,, but hell i like it and it’s angsty. also i know that if i wrote the whole talking out the squip thing i would have a super long fic.
> 
> speaking of super long fics, i may have to post the next request in two parts. i got a little carried away.
> 
> stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves!
> 
> ~PlayerTwoHeere


	10. tumblr boyfs - part one (boyf riends)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> request by Ghosting_Around
> 
> Could you write an AU where Jeremy is like, on the soccer team and popular, but runs a tumblr account where he draws art for a bunch of fandoms and expresses how extremely bisexual he is. Michael finds his art blog and sends him messages on the blog telling him how amazing it is and how he should do commissions and such. They fall in love and meet in real life, shocked about each other's real identities. Sorry if this is too complicated
> 
> ((also bless your soul i love these aus))

For those that knew Jeremy Heere, he was, for lack of a better word, popular. Sure, he never looked like a classic ‘popular’ kid- he wasn’t brawny, or particularly hot, or all that athletic. But he was on the soccer team, he had popular friends, and for the most part, he was at least generally kind to everyone. He could be a bit of a dick sometimes, but then again, what teenager wasn’t?

 

But Jeremy had two huge secrets. One: He was a total nerd. Everything from Star Wars to Mario to Marvel to Harry Potter- he loved them all. But as a ‘popular’ kid, he wasn’t allowed to like those things, much less draw fanart of them. And two: He was very, very bisexual. But he couldn’t exactly go around kissing boys when he was popular- he’d ruin his place on the soccer team if he did that. Of course, it didn’t stop him from looking. Not at his teammates- he’d never do that, not in a serious way. All of them were almost toxicly straight anyways. No, Jeremy looked at boys like Michael Mell, which was somehow even worse than his teammates, because Michael was at the bottom of the high school hierarchy. But Jeremy couldn’t even talk to him without risking the ruining of his social status. He had to get his secrets out somehow, though.

 

Which was why he lay in his bed at two in the morning, in the secrecy of the shadows of his blankets, posting to tumblr. He’d gained quite the cult following on there, under the screen name of bi-derman. Probably the dorkiest, nerdiest thing he could ever come up with, but it successfully threw anyone looking for him off their tracks. Because Jeremy Heere didn’t like superheroes, or boys. 

 

This most recent art was a bit of a self-indulgent piece. Okay, a little more than self-indulgent. He’d been planning on doing a redraw of his profile picture- at least a year old- and he’d spent ages up on his tablet, erasing and drawing and shading. 

 

The picture showed a boy in the Spiderman suit, upside down in the classic Spiderman position, in front of a background that looked like the bisexual flag. However, the boy wasn’t any of the classic actors- the boy was Jeremy himself. Jeremy normally didn’t draw himself. For one, people could probably find him then. For another, he didn’t want to look at himself in the mirror any longer than he had to. But he felt proud of this one, for once. He had done a pretty good job of it- he had the mass of freckles, the pale skin, the slightly messy curly mop of brown hair. 

 

He captioned the post, tagged it, and posted it, with a comparison to his last piece. A great improvement, he thought. At least this picture actually looked like him. He felt the same thrill of excitement and anxiety as he posted it. On one hand, he was proud of it, and he was pretty sure people would like it. On the other, they might hate it, they might think that he didn’t improve, they might stop following his art because he drew himself. 

 

What happened was quite the opposite, in fact. People loved this new art- they sent in anonymous, and non-anonymous, messages, telling Jeremy how much they loved his art, how much he’d improved, how they loved this new picture. He also got a few requests to post an actual picture of himself, which he respectfully declined. Then he got another message. Not one from the inbox, but from the dms. Not many people sent him dms. When he checked, he saw that it was a message from a blog titled loner-loser-stoner. He recognized the name, of course. Loner, as he’d started calling him, was one of his most dedicated fans, usually one of the first to like or reblog his art. 

 

**loner-loser-stoner**

Hey! I finally got the nerve to come 

off of anon. I’ve been following your

art for ages now, which you’ve 

probably noticed. I’d just like to say 

that your most recent piece looks 

great, reminds me a bit of this kid 

who goes to my school. Anyways,

sorry for bothering you, and as 

always, I love your art! Being gay 

myself makes it hard to find kids 

that are so confident with their 

sexuality. 

 

All in all, it was a nice message, if a little disorganized. If only this kid knew just how unconfident he was about his sexuality. But it was the usual kind of compliment he got, but the thing that made his blood run cold was the fact that the kid had possibly recognized him. Maybe he should take down the art, if people were recognizing him. Then he realized- if he was recognized, he would probably be recognized by a nerd. Which wouldn’t be that big of a deal, right? So he responded.

 

**bi-derman**

Thank you so much for the

compliment! It really means a 

lot to me. I’m glad you can 

relate to my art. I know how

hard it is to be confident about

stuff like this, especially in 

school.

 

Jeremy hesitated. Should he send another message, asking about the boy? He decided against it, but he was still intrigued by the kid’s username. It seemed to be a list of things, nicknames, insults, and it didn’t seem to be a reference to anything he knew. Before he could respond, though, he got another message from Loner.

 

**loner-loser-stoner**

Wow you actually responded! 

(That sounds rude, sorry) 

But I have a crazy idea- 

maybe you could do 

commissions? I know I’d 

be one of the first to buy one

with my meager money.

 

That made Jeremy pause. Wait, someone actually wanted to buy his art? He found that ridiculous. Also a little bit flattering. He responded almost immediately, wondering if he should wait so as not to seem lonely or clingy. Hell, he’d just started talking to the kid, what if they thought he was creepy because he responded so fast. 

 

**bi-derman**

I don’t think I’ll do those 

anytime soon. I mean, 

my art’s not that great, 

I doubt anyone else would

buy it.

 

Almost immediately, he got a series of messages from Loner. 

 

**loner-loser-stoner**

DUDE!!! Are you kidding

me??? Your art is 

amazing, so many 

people would buy 

commissions!

 

**loner-loser-stoner**

I mean, if you are a dude

 

**loner-loser-stoner**

I use dude as a 

gender-neutral term

 

**loner-loser-stoner**

But seriously, please 

do commissions, you’d

be surprised.

 

Jeremy couldn’t help but laugh at the messages. This kid seemed funny- he decided to open his blog in another tab and effectively stalk him. Without liking or relogging anything, of course. 

 

**bi-derman**

You really think I should?

And don’t worry, I am a

dude.

 

After he sent it, he scrolled through Loner’s blog- from what he could tell, they were male, and gay, and really liked his art. And video games. Jeremy was immensely entertained by Loner’s blog, actually. Mixed in with headcanons from fandoms and art (mostly his, as far as he could tell) were funny memes and videos, all mish-moshed in with some LGBT+ rights posts. It was a veritable mess, but an endearing mess. 

 

**loner-loser-stoner**

YES!! And I’m a dude too. 

If you were wondering. 

 

Jeremy gave a small grin at the other’s excitement. Loner was actually pretty cute, from what Jeremy could tell. At least his personality and excitement was. But Jeremy shut that down. He didn’t do internet relationships. Just because this boy liked his art didn’t mean anything. What if he was a freshman? Or even worse, in college? But Loner seemed like someone he’d actually want to be friends with- gay, nerdy, likes video games- someone he wanted to be friends with in school but wasn’t allowed to. Almost reminded him of Michael, if Michael actually talked a lot.

 

**bi-derman**

I’ll think about doing them, 

but high school is shit and 

I’ve got a lot of stuff on my 

plate rn. Also, what’s your 

name? I can’t keep calling

you ‘Loner.’ What’s up 

with that username, 

anyways?

 

He sent it, heart pounding. He continued scrolling through Loner’s blog, checking almost obsessively for a message from the boy. It took the other a lot longer than before to respond to his message, but when he did, it was a very, very long message. 

 

**loner-loser-stoner**

Tell me about it, high 

school is whack. 

Especially if no one 

really likes you there. 

Bullies suck ass, and

not in a good way lol.

And my username is 

basically every name 

I’ve ever been called, 

I’m trying to make them 

seem less like insults by

turning them into my user.

If that makes any sense. 

 

**loner-loser-stoner**

Oh, and I realized I never 

answered your question. 

My name’s Angelo, 

what’s yours?

 

Jeremy hesitated. No one on tumblr knew his name, not really. If people asked, he normally said it was classified information. Loner- actually, Angelo- did seem trustworthy, or as trustworthy as someone on the internet could be. So Jeremy gave him as close to his real name as he was willing to give. 

 

**bi-derman**

You can call me Jay. 

It’s awful that you’re 

bullied.

 

He paused, wondering if he should say this, but he had to go for it. 

 

**bi-derman**

I’m actually considered

popular in my school, I 

think. I’m on a sports

team and people seem

to like me, probably bc

I’m only a nerd on here.

 

He hoped that wouldn’t make Angelo stop talking to him. Quite the opposite, in fact- Angelo kept talking to him that entire night, messaging back and forth. Jeremy felt more at ease with this internet stranger than he had with his friends at school, ever. There was just something so great about talking to someone like this, when he could be his actual self, and talk about things he loved. Consequently, they both stayed up the entire night, until Angelo made a comment about how he had to get ready for school. Jeremy couldn’t help but grin- he had made a friend, and one that was completely his, and one that he could relate to. It felt liberating. Maybe life wasn’t so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS TOO LONG TO BE ONE FIC SO
> 
> it’s split into two parts oof
> 
> anyways hope you enjoyed this, and i’m not at all subtle with the names. also i hope you like their usernames (which aren’t actual tags on tumblr, i checked.) 
> 
> stay tuned for part two!
> 
> stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves!!
> 
> ~ PlayerTwoHeere


	11. tumblr boys (part two) (boyf riends)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> look out for the references:  
> also, part two of the previous chapter!!

The entire week, Jeremy was lost in a daze. Angelo’s words bounced around in his head, so much so that he barely even noticed anything happening around him at school. He had a friend- and one that he kind of wanted to be something more. God, was he falling for a guy on the internet? What a cliche of a teenager he was. But that, Angelo’s commission (a poster for a game they both played, Apocalypse of the Damned) and semi-finals, were the only things occupying his mind for a while. That is, until Michael Mell fell with a huge crash right next to their table almost two weeks after he started talking to Angelo, spilling a bright red slushie all over the floor and his signature hoodie.

 

Jeremy heard laughter around him, and he glanced at Rich. Rich was… he was a nice guy, deep down, but he acted like a complete asshole, and never left Michael alone. Jeremy noticed that Rich’s heavily booted foot was still a little outstretched. He could barely hear Rich over the laughter, but he could read the words on his lips. “What a loser.” 

 

Jeremy’s face flushed- he was suddenly reminded of Angelo, and his username. The list of insults he was trying to make seem inconsequential. “Lay off, Rich.” He said, rolling his eyes. He knelt on the ground to help Michael up, ignoring the slushie that started to seep into his sneakers. “You okay, man?” He asked, forcing down a heated blush. Play it cool, Jeremy. 

 

Michael, for the split second that their eyes met, looked like a mixture of confused and surprised and embarrassed and angry. And something Jeremy couldn’t distinguish, but then Michael broke the gaze, retrieving a slightly crushed package of sushi from the floor. Who had sushi for lunch? Apparently Michael. “Yeah, I’m fine.” 

 

Michael ignored Jeremy’s hand, getting up on his own, brushing off his hoodie. He didn’t remove it, though, even though it was almost soaked with slushie. “Thanks.” He muttered, slipping his headphones back onto his ears and walking away, straight out of the cafeteria. 

 

“Oi, loner boy, you left a mess.” Rich called after him, but Michael kept walking and Jeremy turned on him. 

 

“I said, lay off, Rich.” Jeremy was surprised at how venomous his own voice sounded. He grabbed a pack of napkins off the table and knelt back down. Sure, maybe Michael should probably have cleaned it up, but Jeremy could tell that Michael wasn’t exactly in a state to do so.

 

“Jer, what are you doing?” Rich hissed, looking confused, and a little angry. “You’ve never had a problem with this stuff before, why now?”

 

Jeremy tossed the napkins on Rich’s lunch tray, making the shorter boy glare at him. “Because. I’ve had a change of heart.” He scoffed inside his head at that. “It’s wrong, Rich. Just let him be.” 

 

Jeremy suddenly realized that the surrounding lunch tables were looking at him. He hated being stared at. He was stared at a lot, but this was different, this was something he didn’t want to experience. He turned on his heel, stalking away, leaving Rich behind him. He heard another voice behind him. “He’s right, Rich. Why’re you so hard on Mell?” Jeremy gave a small smile. At least Jake had some human decency. 

 

He didn’t hear Rich’s response as he went into the bathroom. He tugged out his phone from his pocket, noticing he had a message on tumblr. He opened it- Angelo had sent him a message. 

 

**loner-loser-stoner**

Sorry for messaging you

while we’re both in school

but i just had a run-in with 

the popular kids and made

a fool out of myself in front

of the kid i’ve had a crush 

on for almost two years. 

 

Jeremy winced. He’d heard about this crush from Angelo for a while, actually. For some reason, it stung every time he mentioned him. Jeremy tried to tell himself that he wasn’t falling for this kid. What if he wasn’t even a kid? He could be a creepy old dude for all Jeremy knew. 

 

**bi-derman**

That’s rough. You holding 

up okay? 

 

There was a while before Angelo messaged him back, and Jeremy grew more and more worried with every second there wasn’t a little text bubble. He seemed to be typing and deleting things.

 

**loner-loser-stoner**

If by okay you mean 

freaking out in a bathroom,

yeah.

 

Jeremy winced, leaning against the tile wall in the bathroom stall. He quickly typed out a response. 

 

**bi-derman**

Just remember to breathe.

Breathing is important. In

and out, alright? 

 

The response was quicker this time, probably because it was a lot shorter than most of Angelo’s responses. 

 

**loner-loser-stoner**

I’m trying to

 

Before Jeremy could respond, he heard a noise from the next stall over. Like a ragged breath. At first he was sure that it was some guy, well, taking care of business. But then he could tell that it wasn’t that. 

 

**bi-derman**

I’ll be back, okay? I love you.

 

He didn’t even realize he’d said ‘I love you’ until he was out of the stall, slowly walking to the next stall over. He pushed that out of his brain, even as he got another message. He gently tapped on the door, and the noise stopped abruptly. 

 

“Go away.” Jeremy recognized the voice, shaky though it sounded. 

 

“Look, Michael, I’m not going to leave you alone.” He said. He hated that Michael was freaking out. He never wanted Michael to feel like this, especially as he had let this happen for almost a year. 

 

“Now I really want you to go away.” Michael seemed to spit the words out, making Jeremy wince. Of course Michael didn’t want him to help, he was one of that crowd. 

 

“You need to breathe, you know. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. Try it.” 

 

There was a while of silence, and Jeremy could hear Michael trying to breathe like he’d instructed. After a minute or two, he heard Michael’s voice again. “Y’know, for a popular kid you’re pretty good at this shit.” Then Michael’s breath hitched again, and Jeremy knew he’d have to help more. 

 

“I-I’ll explain later.” He said, stuttering a little. God, he hadn’t done that in ages. At least since sophomore year. He swallowed, taking a breath of his own. He was just going to help the guy he’d had a teeny tiny (super big) crush on for years through a panic attack. No big deal. “Can I, um, can I come in?”

 

There was silence, then a shuffle and a click of the lock as the door unlocked. Jeremy pulled it open, shutting it behind him and locking it again, before sitting on the floor again. He looked for all the world like a tiny child- knees drawn to his chest, chin resting on them, and his arms holding them close. He watched Michael, a little worriedly, more concerned than he should’ve been. 

 

Michael’s face, normally tanned, was a little red from the tears. His eyes were definitely bloodshot, and his glasses were fogged up and had been shoved to his forehead so he couldn’t see properly, although Jeremy supposed he couldn’t see too well with them on right now either.

 

“Just breathe, okay? Try doing it with me.” He breathed in, counting in his head to four, held it for a count of seven, and released for eight. Again, and again, and again. He would have put Michael’s hand on his chest, but a) that was weird if you weren’t a family member or close friend and b) his own hand was sweaty as hell (just from the fact that the a/c in the bathroom had been broken for years and totally  _ not  _ because of the anxiety coursing through his veins) and c) his heart was pounding so fast he knew Michael would be able to feel it through his jacket. Eventually, though, Michael’s breathing slowed, and he seemed good enough to function as a basic human being. Well, as much as Michael could do that in the first place. 

 

“Hey.” He murmured. A good start, especially as it made Michael give him a small, shaky smile. Hell, he shouldn’t look that cute, he was barely even smiling. Jeremy’s heart was pounding, but he shut it down. Even if there was a tiny chance Michael liked him, that would mean he’d have to either come out or have a secret boyfriend and- wait, was he already thinking of dating this kid? 

 

“Hey.” Michael responded, jerking him out of his train of thought to realize he was staring at Michael. His cheeks flushed, and he sat up quickly. 

 

“I- sorry, I was just- jeez.” Jeremy stumbled over his words. He had come in here to help Michael, not have a gay crisis. He took a deep breath, like the one he had instructed Michael to use, then reached out hesitantly. He took Michael’s glasses gently, wiping them on his own shirt to clean them. He handed them back with a small smile Michael couldn’t see. 

 

“I- thanks.” For some reason, Michael’s face flushed when he took the glasses and slid them on, blinking. His tears seemed to be gone. 

 

“I, um, by the way…” Jeremy hesitated, but blundered on. It was too late to stop now. “I asked Rich to stop messing with you. It’s like he has some personal vendetta against you or something, and I sat by and let it happen because I was too chicken to say something. And I cleaned up the slushie.” 

 

Michael could only blink at him for a second, seemingly surprised. “You- what?” He finally stammered out, looking thoroughly confused. 

 

“And I’m sorry for not saying anything sooner, because I’ve wanted to stand up for you ever since Rich fucked up your locker, but I didn’t, because I was scared, and-“

 

“Jeremy.” Michael’s voice said insistently, and Jeremy looked up. Michael was smiling at him, and goddamn it, it wasn’t fucking fair that he looked that damn adorable while smiling. No one should look that cute, it should be illegal. 

 

Then Jeremy realized he was still talking, and he had said that out loud.

 

Well, fuck him gently with a chainsaw. 

 

Michael stared at him, mouth hanging open. His entire face was bright red, and Jeremy was sure his own face matched the colour of Michael’s hoodie. “Hold up, what?” 

 

Jeremy panicked, standing up so quickly he hit his head on the latch of the bathroom stall, wincing. “I-I should go- I’m sorry- I just- shit- I’m so-“ He was tripping over his words, making a fool of himself. He was supposed to be the cool and calm and chill one, wasn’t he? 

 

But then Michael’s hand was on his jacket sleeve and pulling him down to kneel on the tiled floor again, and Jeremy’s face was bright red. He hated not knowing how to act in front of people. He was a failure of a popular kid. 

 

“Hey, calm down, it’s fine.” Something in Michael’s tone seemed to be… hopeful? Jeremy forced that down. There was no fucking way Michael thought of him like that. He was that popular kid that didn’t really interact with people outside of his friend group, and even then, barely with them- Rich or Jake or any of the other guys. Michael may have liked online him, Jay or bi-derman, but there was no way Jeremy could let anyone know that side of him existed. “Is your head okay?”

 

Jeremy was more intrigued by the way their faces were so close he felt that he could count Michael’s eyelashes. Had Michael’s eyes always been this brown? He didn’t know, but god, he- wait, Michael had asked him a question. His hand came up to touch the back of his head, wincing slightly. “I- yeah, it’s fine-“ Then he froze. “Angelo.”

 

For some reason, that name made Michael’s flush drain from his face. Jeremy was too preoccupied- an awful habit of his- by the fact that he had said ‘I love you’ to some boy on the internet to realize exactly why Michael was so worried about that name. “Wh-What?” It was Michael’s turn to stammer now. 

 

“Nothing, just- it’s nothing. Gimme a sec.” Jeremy dug in his pocket for his phone, pulling up the page for tumblr to read the new message- or messages- from Angelo. 

 

**loner-loser-stoner**

I love you too.

 

**loner-loser-stoner**

Gtg crush boy outside door

 

Jeremy stared at the screen for a second, then looked up at Michael. He did that a few times, his brain feeling like it was about to explode. Suddenly, he felt as if a puzzle was clicking into place. The username. The pseudonym. The mentions of the crush boy. 

 

“Heh. Michelangelo. Like the turtle. Funny.” He muttered with a small smile, then he realized. 

 

If Michael was Angelo.

 

And he was Jay.

 

And him, Jeremy, was the crush (at least he hoped so because otherwise it meant all his theories were wrong).

 

Oh, man, things just got even more bizarre the more he was piecing together. 

 

Michael was staring at him, slack-jawed. “You’re kidding.” He breathed out. “I- I thought I had figured it out, but I thought it was all a coincidence- you’re Jay.”

 

Jeremy went pink. So Michael had found out his secret identity. Michael had been a fan of his secret identity. This was like a superhero movie, but in modern life, and without cool powers. “I- the one and only.” He said with a slightly cocky grin. 

 

“Holy shit.” Michael said after a few beats. “You’re bi.” 

 

Jeremy sudddenly realized his mouth was dry, and he swallowed, hard. He stared down at his knees, realizing he was about to reveal everything he had tried to keep hidden from people at school to the guy he had had a crush on for years. No big deal. “Um, yep.” He muttered, face turning pink. “And I’m a total nerd that likes superheroes and magic and Star Wars and I spent most of my bar mitzvah money on a drawing tablet.”

 

“You- wait, you’re Jewish?” Michael said, blinking at him. 

 

“ _ That’s  _ the thing you’re asking about?” Jeremy said incredulously, looking up at Michael in sincere confusion. 

 

Michael snorted. “Of course, I didn’t know that. Did you have to wear that funny little hat thing? You’d look cute in one.” Then he backtracked in a panicked tone of voice. “I mean- um-“

 

Jeremy couldn’t help but laugh at the look on Michael’s face. “Yes, I wore a yarmulke. And- and you’re not too bad looking yourself.” Then he gave Michael finger guns. God, why did he do that? He looked like a total weirdo, didn’t he? 

 

Luckily for him, Michael didn’t immediately cringe at him and only laughed, a bit tearfully. “So you’re the total nerd I’ve been messaging for weeks?” 

 

“Hey!” Jeremy protested, but in a slightly teasing tone. “I thought I was more of a geek, personally.” Then he realized something huge. “Wait, this means I can give you the poster in person. Eventually, at least.” 

 

Michael gave a grin, pushing up his glasses. “I’d, uh, I’d really like that.” There was a few moments of silence, until Michael broke it again. “So… we’re just going to ignore the elephant in the room then?”

 

“I- what?” Jeremy said, extremely intelligently. He just blinked at Michael for a second, who rolled his eyes.

 

“I don’t mean an  _ actual _ ele-“

 

“No, I know what it means, I’m not a  _ total _ idiot, but- what d’you mean?” Jeremy’s face was red from embarrassment. He had a sudden thought that this boy was making him blush even more than usual. 

 

Michael had possibly the biggest, dorkiest grin on his face imaginable. “You love me.”

 

“Wha- it was a reflex!” Jeremy said, looking away quickly, but he couldn’t hide the way his cheeks darkened, even the tips of his ears turning red. 

 

Michael snorted, and he reached out, ruffling Jeremy’s hair. “Sure it was.” He said, sounding amused, but his small smirk dropped quickly, and he jerked his hand away as if burned. “I- sorry, you probably don’t want me flirting with you.” He muttered, sticking his hands into his hoodie pocket. 

 

“I- uh- n-no, no, I don’t mind you flirting.” He said, sounding like he had in eighth grade when he had tried to ask out Christine Canigula. That had failed, hopefully this wouldn’t go totally haywire. “Why would I question a cute boy flirting with me?” 

 

Michael’s grin somehow got wider, before he leaned over, kissing Jeremy on the cheek quickly. Or that was the plan, at least. Instead, Jeremy pulled back slightly, turning his head just enough, inadvertently, to press Michael’s mouth to the corner of his own lips. 

 

Michael pulled away quickly. “I- shit, sorry, I-“ But he was cut off by Jeremy leaning forward in possibly the most daring action he’d ever done and pressing their lips together, a little awkwardly. Last person he’d kissed was Brooke sophomore year- unless you counted Chloe, while drunk, during a game of Spin The Bottle, but he didn’t count that, because she technically kissed him. 

 

This was different, though. But he didn’t get long to figure out if it was a good different or a bad different before the door to the bathroom slammed open. Jeremy jumped, breaking the kiss, and moving away from the stall door as quick as possible. Wow, he’d just had his first kiss with a guy in the middle of the school bathroom with a toilet right next to him. Time to cross that off his bucket list. If he had one. 

 

“Where’d he go?” Jeremy heard Rich say, and he sounded more like the Rich he knew- not the one that made fun of Michael, but the one who had once dared Jake to snort Coke- actual Coca-Cola, they were too cheap for actual cocaine, then made sure he was okay and not dying from choking on soda. 

 

And speaking of, Jeremy heard Jake respond. “I dunno, man. He probably wants us to leave him alone. He seemed pretty ticked off.”

 

Jeremy heard a sigh from Rich. “Whatever. I’ll just text him later or something.” Then the footsteps receded, and Jeremy felt himself start breathing again. 

 

Before he could turn to Michael, who seemed just as frozen as he was, he heard Jake speak again. 

 

“You can come out now.” Jeremy glanced at Michael, who looked back at him with wide eyes before gesturing his head towards Jake’s voice. Jeremy nodded, getting up and unlatching the lock, pulling open the door and trying to show as little of Michael as possible. 

 

Just two bros, chilling in a bathroom stall. 

 

Jeremy was sure his face was bright red when he looked up at Jake, who was leaning against the sink. He looked like a guy that was supposed to be in the boy’s bathroom lounging against sinks. Jake pretty much looked like he fit in anywhere. 

 

“Both of you.” He finally said, looking over Jeremy, then back at the stall. 

 

Jeremy gave a nervous laugh at that statement. “Ha, what d’you mean, there’s no one else in there.” He said, holding the door shut behind him. 

 

Jake raised an eyebrow. “I’m not totally dumb.” He leaned over, as if to look through the crack in the stall door. However, Michael was already leaving. Jeremy gave him a look like, ‘what the hell are you doing,’ but Michael just shrugged. 

 

“He already knew, so…” 

 

Jake’s grin grew wider. “Thank god, I’ve been watching the two of you pine after each other for ages now.”

 

That drew a surprised choke from Jeremy (very attractive, Heere, way to impress your new boyfriend- was Michael even his boyfriend?). Michael just stared at Jake, a little shell-shocked. “You- what now?” Jeremy sputtered.

 

“You’ve been making these eyes at each other when you think the other isn’t looking. I know pining when I see it.” Jake said with an easy grin, as if he didn’t just turn Jeremy’s world upside down again, in a different direction. The taller boy ruffled Jeremy’s hair, like an older brother might, and Jeremy ducked away from his hand. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell.”

 

Jeremy exchanged glances with Michael, face red. “I- alright then. Um-“ He was saved from answering by the bell going off, and he grabbed his bag and raced to class. 

 

A few weeks later, Jeremy found himself coming off the soccer field, very not attractive, to see Michael in the crowd. They had both been terrible at keeping secrets, and Jenna Rolan found them kissing behind the school, so really, they were both out now. 

 

“Micha, what’re you doing here?” Jeremy asked, leaning against the bottom of the bleachers. Michael, who was already taller than him, was positively huge from this angle, or so it seemed. 

 

Michael only smiled, twirling his headphone cord around his finger absentmindedly. “Came to see you, of course. You’re good. I think. I don’t know soccer at all.” He said, with a deadpan expression. 

 

Jeremy snorted. “Believe me, I don’t either, actually. You really shouldn’t have come.” Jeremy hated sweating on a regular basis, and he was, quite frankly, kind of gross. “But thanks. You’re sweet.”

 

Michael laughed, and Jeremy felt his heart warm. “I like that laugh.” He glanced back to the field. 

 

“So, we still on for Apocalypse?” Michael asked, sounding hopeful. 

 

Jeremy let out a small snort of laughter. “Oh, so that’s what this is? You’re reminding me of our date?” He gave Michael a huge grin, and Michael gently pushed his head. Jeremy stumbled obligingly, laughing. “Okay, okay, yes, we’re on for Apocalypse tonight.” Then he heard a voice call from behind him- one of his teammates- and he had to rush off. 

 

“See ya, Angelo.” He said, turning away, but not after he saw Michael roll his eyes. 

 

“Shut up, Jay. You’re a doofus.” Jeremy saluted him, very dramatically, while walking backwards, somehow not tripping. 

 

“You love me.” He teased, only stumbling slightly over the curb of the sidewalk.

 

“Go play your damn sports shit, ya dingus.” Michael called after him, making Jeremy grin and blow him a kiss. 

 

For once, Jeremy did what he was told. He didn’t even care at that moment that people knew about him and Michael- he had, before, but right then, he was just glad to be able to say that Michael was his and he was Michael’s. He was happy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i actually still adore this au and may write more for it?? although I hate the ending of it so 
> 
> c’est la vie
> 
> I’m bad at endings
> 
> i’ll post more soon, just having a rough first week of school. see you guys next post!!
> 
> stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves
> 
> ~PlayerTwoHeere


	12. head over heels - richjake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spiderturtle requested:
> 
> Can you do a fluffy richjake one but with Jake pinning big time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ha this sucks i’m sorry 
> 
> but enjoy background boyf riends!!

Richard Goranski was far from perfect, at least in the eyes of most people. However, to Jake Dillinger, he was possibly the greatest human on the earth. Everything Rich did or said sent this little odd feeling through his heart, like he had a pair of jumper cables that he was stabbing into Jake’s pecs. Actually, that didn’t sound nearly as good as it felt- but in short, Jake was totally, thoroughly, irrevocably head over heels for his best friend, and he was pretty sure it was going to kill him one day. 

 

That day may very well be today. It wasn’t often they got time alone together. Even years after the incident with the play, and Halloween, they still found their time together constantly interrupted by other plans, college, or other friends. Don’t get Jake wrong, he loved when they all hung out together. They’d just all managed to go to laser tag because the entire squad was home from college, but today was just for Rich. Which meant sitting on Jake’s dorm room bed with Rich’s head on his thigh and just sitting there in silence.

 

Jake hated silence. He thought it sounded deafening. He had a policy that if humans were supposed to talk, they would talk. But the silence with Rich was normal, easy. It felt right. If he could give up a day of talking just to spend an hour in silence with Rich like this, he definitely would.

 

Rich wasn’t paying attention to Jake, and for once, Jake didn’t mind. In the fading light through the windows, Jake could pick out what seemed like every hair on Rich’s head, the light reflecting off of the red streak he still stubbornly kept, even into their college years. His face was calm, without any of the worry or stress that normally tangled up his features. He had a slight smile on his face as he looked up at his phone, presumably at some picture of a dog or a meme. Jake had no clue but God damn it, it was literally not allowed for Rich to look that attractive when he wasn’t even doing anything. So he did the only logical thing. 

 

jakey_damn: how did you realize you liked michael?

 

Jeremy took a while to respond, and all the while Jake had to convince himself to not run his hands through Rich’s short hair, which was starting to get a little messy from the way he was lying on Jake. 

 

InsertCoolUsernameHeere: Are you asking me for advice with Rich?

InsertCoolUsernameHeere: Because if you’re looking for a pining best friend Michael is your best bet.

 

jakey_damn: michael isn’t responding to me anymore

jakey_damn: hey wait i’m not pining?? 

 

InsertCoolUsernameHeere: I am literally the most oblivious person on the planet and I noticed, Jake.

InsertCoolUsernameHeere: But in answer to your question, I realized I liked him when he grinned at me like a total dork after beating a level in Apocalypse and my heart felt all fuzzy and I knew I wanted to be with him for the rest of my life and also wanted to kiss that grin off of his face.

 

jakey_damn: that is the gayest shit i’ve ever heard

jakey_damn: sooooo what did you do?

 

InsertCoolUsernameHeere: I stared at him like an idiot for a few seconds before looking away. 

 

jakey_damn: i meant abt ur crush dumbass

 

InsertCoolUsernameHeere: I let the crush consume me until I thought I was going to explode because my affection was too much and I thought he wouldn’t like me back.

InsertCoolUsernameHeere: That isn’t my advice, by the way. Don’t do that.

 

jakey_damn: i’m still not pining

jakey_damn: he just looks super adorable because he’s relaxxed for once and the sun is making his hair all ahiny and i want to kiss him and run my hands through his hair

 

InsertCoolUsernameHeere: In your own words: That is the gayest shit I’ve ever heard.

InsertCoolUsernameHeere: Wait, are you texting me while he’s there?

 

jakey_damn: he’s on my lap rn

 

InsertCoolUsernameHeere: Just tell him you like him. I know it’s hard but seriously you won’t regret it.

 

Jake looked down at his phone and groaned, a lot more audibly than he thought he had. It made Rich tilt his head to look at him, brow furrowing and making his forehead crease. Jake wanted to kiss it. Fuck, he was so far gone. 

 

“You okay, bro. ‘Cause I can move if this is hurting your leg-“ Rich said, sounding concerned. 

 

“No, no, I’m fine. Just, uh, Jeremy told me a bad joke.” Jake panicked. He didn’t know how to get out of this situation. It wasn’t often Jake freaked and said something nervous. Usually he just said stupid things. 

 

Rich settled back down, a little lightly, as if afraid Jake’s legs would act up. “If you say so. So, tell me a joke.” His voice sounded light, but there was an underlying emotion of… amusement? Skepticism?

 

Fuck, now Jake had to think of an awful joke. He blurted out the first one that came to his head. “What did one ocean say to another?” 

 

The look of concentrated confusion on Rich’s face was almost worth it. “I, uh, nice to sea you? Like, sea as in s-e-a?” 

 

“Nothing, they just waved-“ Jake finished, which made Rich groan with amusement, rolling over and shit, oh my god, Rich was pressing his face into Jake’s stomach, and he could feel the tiny breaths of laughter.

 

Jake was fucked. “Richie I need to tell you something.” It wasn’t often that he used that nickname. He’d used it maybe three times before, but each time was extremely serious.

 

Needless to say, it immediately sobered Rich, who sat up, sitting cross-legged. His hair stuck up even after he ran his hands through it, and he looked at Jake with such a look of concern that he almost felt guilty. 

 

“I-“ God, Jake was sure his mouth wasn’t supposed to be this dry. His eyes locked on Rich’s and he could tell every colour in the other boy’s eyes, and he started on shutdown, until suddenly his words were spilling out of his lips. “I have this huge crush on you and it’s driving me crazy because you’re so cute and funny and adorable and hot and amazing and I-“ 

 

Then he wasn’t talking anymore because something was stopping him. 

 

Oh.

 

Oh shit. 

 

Richard Goranski was kissing him. And he was kissing him back, and Jesus fucking Christ, he was really liking it. Jake was totally gone, more than he ever had been with Chloe or Madeleine or that guy last year. 

 

He pulled away and his face was more flushed than he was sure it had ever been in his entire life. “I- oh my god.” He mumbled, one hand on Rich’s cheek, before he started grinning like an idiot. “Oh my god.” He couldn’t really say much else. 

 

Rich rolled his eyes, a cocky grin on his face. “Kiss me again, you dingus.” 

 

Jake definitely obliged, pressing their lips together again, softly. He had found his literal new favourite thing. Then he heard his phone buzz and pulled away. “Shit, I’m sorry-“ 

 

He picked it up, looking at the text. 

 

InsertCoolUsernameHeere: dude, check Rich’s phone. 

 

Jake looked confused, but looked over at Rich’s phone. On the screen was a very amused looking Michael, Jeremy’s head on his shoulder. Jake was pretty sure that was the most flustered he’d ever been, and he flipped off the screen. 

 

Michael burst into laughter, Jeremy grinning widely. “Took you two long enough.” 

 

Rich rolled his eyes before flipping Michael off and pulling Jake into another kiss. Jake didn’t even mind the fake applause from Jeremy, or the quiet laughter from Michael, and when he finally, finally pulled away, the screen was blank. Jake, for once, had no clue what to say. “Hey.” He ended up mumbling, hand still on Rich’s cheek, trying to force down a grin.

 

“Hey.” Jake was pretty sure Rich rolled his eyes- for good reason, that was a totally dorky thing to do. But it was a start, and Jake could already feel the pressure lifting from so long of pining. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for such a long wait guys!! i’m trying to get this all under control, but it’s kinda a mess of a week. homework and irl things come first, so i’m sorry. i am going to try and post/write more often than i have been, but please stay tuned!! 
> 
> also, sorry this isn’t as ‘fluffy’ as the request suggested but it’s the best i can do with these boys actually. anyways, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves!
> 
> ~PlayerTwoHeere


	13. back in business

i completely forgot how opening these note things work

but yes! these are open again. writing requests and all that.

Update 1. I will write anything EXCEPT

-anything romantic with the squip  
-jeremy x chloe romantically  
-jerrich is,, iffy,, i’m not a huge fan but i will if requested  
-any of the poly ships (i’ve tried, i’m just super bad at them)

Update 2. I’m only taking a few new requests, so don’t get upset with me if I don’t finish them in .2 seconds

Update 3. Basically just,, be detailed and give me a ship and prompt and I’ll try my best to write them!!

stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves

~Percy


	14. the guide to how not to apologize {boyf riends}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> request from Fangirlwriting:
> 
> “Can you write some boyf riends angst involving Michael telling Jeremy what happened in the bathroom, and maybe Jeremy telling Michael what happened with Chloe as a result?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’s kinda like,, just after the play or so and it’s less romantic than i think you wanted but like,,  
> it was fun  
> angry michael and sad jeremy? yes

“I hated you.” Michael’s voice cut in through the awkward, guilt-permeated silence, and Jeremy had to resist the urge not to flinch. This was what they’d agreed on— just them, talking, in the silence of Jeremy’s room, crosslegged on his bed. Well, Jeremy was crosslegged on his bed, Michael was in his desk chair, swinging back and forth so his ankles hit the wheel spokes on the base of it, as if he couldn’t keep still.

 

“I know.” The words felt thick in Jeremy’s throat, and he wasn’t sure that Michael even heard him. 

 

“No, like, I really thought I did, you know? I thought you were— my least favourite person ever. That you weren’t the Jeremy I knew. And you really weren’t, you just had his face and voice.” Michael’s laugh usually made Jeremy feel better, but this was just— cold and bitter and sad. It wasn’t his real laugh. “But yknow what my mom said when I asked her about it— minus the whole ‘hey my best friend is drugged by a weaboo supercomputer’ shtick.” Jeremy could feel Michael’s eyes on him, boring into him, and it made his stomach churn. 

 

“She said you don’t waste hatred on people you don’t like. Which sounds like the utter bullshit I spout when high, but it kinda makes sense. You don’t waste intense emotion on people you don’t care about.” Jeremy’s eyes flickered up, and he could tell he looked hopeful, because Michael laughed again— a bit more genuine, but still fake. 

 

“Oh, no, you still essentially called me the worst slur in our friendship history and left me to have a panic attack in the bathroom of Jake fucking Dillinger’s house.” Michael’s tone was almost sarcastic, but the words weren’t. 

 

Jeremy winced, opening his mouth to apologize, but Michael’s hand was held up before he could finish. “Don’t say I’m sorry again. I know. But sorry doesn’t exactly cut it.”

 

Now it was Jeremy’s turn to laugh, but his was more high-pitched and forced, and sounded more like he was on the verge of a tears than an actual laugh. “I- I know. But— it’s still true.”

 

“I know.” There was a sense of finality in those words that gave Jeremy a little bit of hope, but it came crashing down again with the next words. “But being sorry doesn’t mean all that much. You were— literally, you were my only friend, and you left me, totally alone. Do you know what that feels like, being left alone?”

 

Jeremy almost said yes, almost nodded. Every time Michael left his house after his mom left, or he had to go home, he felt utterly alone. His dad wasn’t company, at all. But he shook his head instead. “B-But— But I’m tr-trying to understand.” His eyes flickered up to Michael’s, but he broke their gaze almost immediately. 

 

Michael was silent, so Jeremy took that as his cue, barreling forwards. “I’m gonna- gonna try not to apologize again. But- but you deserve an explanation. Or- or at least an- an attempt at one, you know?” More silence from Michael, so Jeremy continued. He wouldn’t cry, he promised himself he wouldn’t.

 

“I’m n-not saying my Halloween was any w-worse than anyone’s. H-Halloween- sucked for everyone.” Every stammer made Jeremy feel worse- he expected to feel that shock up and down his spine, making him feel like his nerve endings were on fire.

 

Michael barked out a laugh. “How could  _ your  _ Halloween suck? You were Mr. Popular, I was Mr. Cellophane.”

 

A small smile quirked at Jeremy’s lips. “Was- was that a Ch-Chicago reference?” He’d thought Michael didn’t pay attention when he started to get into musicals. Michael’s awkward flushed face made him feel a bit better, but his smile dissolved as he shoved on. “My- my Halloween was- okay, for a while. You know, uh, you know I hate crowds, but- but the…” He tried choking out the word, but it lodged in his throat. “The thing was keeping me c-calm. Helping me flirt and- and shit. ‘Cause- ‘cause Brooke and I were- were dating then, y’know?” 

 

A sharp nod from Michael told Jeremy that he was listening. “It- it was great, and- and then Chloe came up to me. She- um.” He felt his mouth go dry. He’d only really realized what happened after the squip deactivated, since it had tried to minimize the effects. But afterwards… Jeremy realized he wasn’t speaking, and he took a deep breath. “She- she told me Brooke was waiting for me upstairs. And- And I followed her.” 

 

The image in his head of Chloe, her pink lipstick and odd baby bonnet askew on her head, leaning close to his ear, breath hot and warm, was almost too vivid, and he closed his eyes. It didn’t help that much, but the words were spilling out of him now, and he couldn’t stop them. “Sh-She took me to Jake’s parents room, and when- when I asked where Brooke w-was, she just told me- she told me that Brooke wasn’t c-coming and…” A deep breath, one that was too shaky to be normal. 

 

The silence was thick, until Jeremy finally broke it. “She- tried to k-kiss me. Talking about how- how Brooke wasn’t innocent or s-something- she was jealous and drunk and— and I tr-tried saying no, but the- I c-couldn’t move, it wouldn’t l-let me, and she k-kept-“ Michael’s head snapped up, and Jeremy could feel his eyes boring into him. “She k-kept trying to convince me to- y’know, bang her or- or something, on Jake’s parents b-bed, and sh-she pushed me d-down and- and she didn’t get to d-do anything b-bad, ‘cause Brooke and J-Jake heard, and they th-thought we were- you know. B-But the- the alcohol made it sh-shut down and J-Jake threatened to kill me ‘cause he was d-drunk and all and—“ His breath hitched, and he realized he was crying. He didn’t know when that had started. “And I r-ran into Brooke, and then- then I r-ran into the bathroom to get away, and then- you know what happened.”

 

“Yeah.” Michael finally said, but his voice held a certain tone that Jeremy recognized- anger. He mistakenly thought it was directed towards him.

 

“I’m s-sorry, I’m sorry, I—“ 

 

“Stop apologizing!” Michael burst out, and Jeremy’s head snapped up. He was suddenly very glad that his dad had left the house. “You- yeah, you were a major prick, and you shouldn’t have listened to a pill in your head that told you to do a bunch of jackass stuff, but don’t you  _ dare  _ apologize for getting assaulted!”

 

“It- it wasn’t assault, Michael, it- sh-she was drunk, and d-didn’t know, and— it was m-my fault for being dumb.” Jeremy blurted out.

 

“Your- you think that it was your fault? Jeremy, think for a second! Did you want her to kiss you?”

 

A bit of silence, and Jeremy shook his head. 

 

“Okay, did you tell her no?”

 

“I- I said I had to go, but— this isn’t important, Michael, y-you got more hurt than me, this isn’t suppposed to-“

 

“Shut up! We’re supposed to talk about both of our issues, I’m not going to just ignore this!” Michael snapped, and he looked more pissed than Jeremy had ever seen him. “God, I never thought I’d want to thank someone for threatening you with death. I could kiss Jake.”

 

Jeremy forced out a small laugh, but it sounded like a sob. “I th-think anyone would want t-to.”

 

A small grin tugged at Michael’s lips- one that no one but Jeremy would have noticed. But it was gone almost as soon as it appeared, and so was his anger. He finally sat next to Jeremy on his bed. “Are you- okay?” Jeremy’s voice was quiet, and he looked over at Michael, wiping away the tears on his cheeks and sniffling a bit. 

 

“Dude, you’re the one who had a creepy supercomputer in your head that almost let you get raped, and you’re asking if  _ I’m _ okay?” Michael said, shaking his head with a small laugh, but Jeremy only looked down at his feet. 

 

“I- I got wh-what I deserved, so- so it doesn’t matter.” He mumbled, scuffing the toe of his sock on the floor, as if making patterns in the carpet. 

 

Michael looked up at him with a kind of intensity that he hadn’t seen before. “No way. You did not deserve that. No one deserves that.” 

 

The silence stretched on, until Michael hesitantly wrapped an arm around Jeremy’s shoulder, tugging the smaller boy closer. Jeremy stiffened for a second, before shifting even closer, almost like a little kid. “I’m s-“

 

“You apologize again, I’m smacking you.”

 

Jeremy let out a watery laugh, wiping at his eyes. “I’m- I’m gonna cry all over you.” He mumbled.

 

“That’s what friends are for, isn’t it?” Michael’s words were soft, and Jeremy’s head jerked up to look at him. 

 

“We’re st-still-“

 

“What, friends?” Michael had a sort of sad smile on his face as he looked at Jeremy. “Maybe not best friends, you kinda lost that status.” Jeremy’s smile faltered, before Michael held up a finger. “But- that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna let you earn it back. Which you’re already working towards.” Then he finally pulled Jeremy to his feet. “C’mon- we’ve got level ten to beat.”

 

Jeremy managed a small smile. “You’d let me-“

 

“Of course. Can’t play without my player two.” Then, after a bit of hesitation, Michael held out a hand, and Jeremy faltered for a second. “C’mon, that tic-tac made you forget our handshake?” He said, with a slightly joking tone.

 

But Jeremy reached out his hand— up high, down low, feet together, same as always. And maybe they weren’t the same— there was still an air of tension around them, but it was progress. And sometimes, progress was all that was necessary. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> geez this took a while
> 
> but it’s here!! yay!!


	15. let’s do this again pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i’m dumb and gay and need writing ideas and i’m a people pleaser so this’ll be the only way i’ll write

hey y’all,,

so i’m in a bit of intense writer’s block right now and i have ten wips at least but all of them are dumb so

request some things!! if i’m writing for someone else i’m more likely to finish things. 

rules are still the same!! those can be found in the first chapter. 

thanks for reading loves!!

stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves!!

~percy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you’re reading this please read my girlfriend’s work she’s amazing she’s ApocalypseOfTheFucked


	16. wear skirts (and die?) - boyf riends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BigGleeFanatic requested:
> 
> one where Jeremy prefers to wear feminine clothing, but he is way to scared about anyone finding out about it. However Michael finds out by accident and fluff ensures. (He could walk in in Jeremy wearing it or finds the clothes by accident)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay the fluff? didn’t really happen. and sorry this was so late, i had shitty writers block for a while and finals are kicking my ass but here!! have some boyfs, haven’t written them in ages.

Having a secret obsession was always hard to keep on the down low. Jeremy Heere knew that better than anyone. Some people collected weird figurines. Others watched documentaries on serial killers. Still others were way too into astrology for their own good.

Jeremy cross-dressed. It wasn’t anything big, really. He didn’t wear bras or anything, not like he had anything that could go in them in the first place. He was about as flat as a board. But he liked skirts, and dresses, although heels could go fuck themselves. He already walked like a baby giraffe anyways, he didn’t need to shove toothpicks under his heels too. 

He wasn’t about to tell anyone, either. He already got bullied enough, even after his biggest former bully had turned out to be a pretty decent human (getting rid of a hivemind did that to a guy), and his self confidence was so low he didn’t dare to tell anyone, not even his boyfriend or his dad. He liked wearing it, but he had no clue if he looked even okay or not, so he kept it a very, very deep secret. He even bought his skirts and dresses at a thrift store with cash, rather than online where it could be tracked. (No, he wasn’t paranoid, he was just overly cautious.)

But he usually only wore them when home alone, hence why he was dancing around his room in a black skirt and a Star Wars t-shirt, his bluetooth headphones over his ears and blasting the soundtrack from The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals. Just when Jaime Lyn Beatty hit the high note in Join Us (And Die), Jeremy’s bedroom door was pushed open. A familiar figure was standing there, a 7-11 bag dangling from his wrist, his usual classic red hoodie tied around his waist. Michael.

Jeremy froze, feeling his skirt swirling around his legs, before treacherously settling down by his thighs. He was pretty sure he was only thinking one word on a loop: fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck-

“H-Hey?” He squeaked, pulling off his headphones. The song was still blasting from the earpieces, and it kind of filled the awkward silence. Although, dying and becoming a musical zombie sounded like a great idea at the moment. Because Michael was obviously trying not to stare at his legs. The skirt wasn’t too long, maybe a little longer than mid-thigh. Which meant he was showing more leg than Michael had seen since they were thirteen and he’d gotten the wrong type of swim trunks and had proceeded to not swim all summer.

“You- uh-“ Being Michael’s friend for thirteen years, and his boyfriend for two months. meant that Jeremy was good at knowing when Michael was embarrassed. And this right now was prime Michael embarrassment. “-skirts.” He sputtered, his cheeks red. 

“I’ll- I’ll change, please don’t tell anyone, I’m-“

“No!” That seemed to surprise both of them. But Michael coughed and repeated himself. “I, uh- think- think you look, uh. Good. In that. Um.” 

If you made Michael Mell stutter and stammer, you did something right. And apparently Jeremy Heere in a skirt was enough to make him entirely cease functioning. 

“You- think so?” Shit, he sounded desperate. He’d never let anyone see him in a skirt before, so this was really weird for him. Well, unless you counted the fact that he had a secret Instagram account of him in skirts and dresses that, thank god, no one he knew had found. But he never showed his face anyways. 

Michael’s eyes darted over him, and in that split second, Jeremy felt more vulnerable than ever. “Yeah. You look- you look amazing.” He looked up at Jeremy with a sort of awed look on his face, like he couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Do you- do this often, or...” He trailed off, obviously embarrassed by his own question.

Jeremy only shrugged awkwardly. God, he wanted to sink into the floor. “I- I do it whenever I’m alone? It’s just— they’re comfy. And- And, I dunno, it makes me feel...” He went red, before shaking his head. “No, never mind, it’s- nothing. Um.” 

“I’m just- you never told me.” Michael muttered. He looked a little put out, but not disgusted, as Jeremy was afraid he would be. 

“I mean, what guy wants to hear ‘hey, I like dressing in girly clothes’ from their boyfriend?” 

There was a moment of silence, before Michael raised his hand like he was in class, making Jeremy splutter. “What- Michael, that’s not— that was a rhetorical question!”

“And I answered anyways.” Michael kept a straight face for a little while, but he could never keep down a grin when he wanted to. He cracked a smile, his teeth still a little crooked from when he’d run into a telephone pole when they were eight that they’d never quite fixed with braces. 

That broke the tension a bit, making Jeremy burst into awkward, slightly anxious laughter, and Michael joined in. Jeremy’s laughter was kind of contagious. When Michael had calmed down, he stepped closer to the other boy, giving him a small smile. “I really think you look good in that.” He said softly, making Jeremy turn pink again. He only got even more pink at the kiss Michael planted on his nose, making it wrinkle up. 

“You’re actually the most adorable human ever, how do you do that?” Michael asked, his grin softer now. 

Jeremy huffed. “Uh, born with it?” He wasn’t sure what to say, honestly, since he didn’t believe he was anything close to adorable. Maybe decent, on a good day. He was trying his best to actually seem okay with himself, though. It barely worked.

“Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline.” Michael said dramatically, making Jeremy snort with laughter. 

“Dork.”

“I’m not the one who wears skirts— that are very cute, mind you, but you’re still a bigger dork.”

“Why’re you even here?” Jeremy asked, realizing he’d been too caught up in the panic of Michael seeing him in a skirt to even care about why he was here. 

“Uh, slushees and Apocalypse? Wanted to surprise you.” He gestured at the 7-11 bag. “And, uh, I see I did.”

Jeremy laughed softly. “Alright, but for that, you have to listen to The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals with me—“

Michael groaned good-naturedly, but he wasn’t complaining when he had Jeremy curled up next to him, playing Apocalypse as usual with some Starkid playing in the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please appreciate tgwdlm i love it so much and it’s my favourite ever
> 
> also i’ll try to get more posted soon!! it’s just been super stressful lately 
> 
> stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves!!
> 
> ~ percy


End file.
